im Se Sy eee rare! “chars SS: aS int. S Erect - St 7 os 7 a > bi oy op al LS 3 at 7 > 7 Ld C i ; - 7 a - 7 4 a a Y a - _ 7 -_ - - 7) 7 : er 7 7 : : ¢ - 5 _s 7 x : Oo] _ _ _ : 7 a & is) > > 7 oe 7 _ : um _ - — : a. b 7 a - 0 > 7 : 7. ¢ ae > 7 - a OS 3 > A 7 7 - oe 7 - 7 = a Oo : ; a 7 : : a : ? Tl v 4.2 _ a i aoe : pA - — rl ve - - a >_> a a : — ae 7 7 - cad i 7 = oe 7 = : tts g d ae a S y o . a . Yk - 7,3 : ' . - , 9 Eo _ a 7 - o 7 7 5 6 a ae : o a y 5 : 9 7 q i_ jj ou : - a : 7 ae - 7 - fal 7 - 0 a, - FUR SEAL ARBITRATION. —_—"\ fas § x “o- PROCE FIDINGS OF THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION, CONVENED AT PARIS UNDER THE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN CONCLUDED AT WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 20, 1892, FOR THE DETERMINATION OF QUESTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO GOV.- ERNMENTS CONCERNING THE JURISDICTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE WATERS OF BERING SEA, VOLUME IX. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIOER, 139.5; FUR-SEAL ARBITRATION. ARGUMENT OF Wee SINITED STATES BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION CONVENED AT PARIS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN, CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 29, 1892, WASHINGTON, D. C.: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1893. TABLE OF CONTENTS, FIRST. Whatlaw isto covern the decision... .-..----20.cecceescece ccc ccee aeisisias Appendix to part first (Mr. Carter’s argument) .---...---2. 22.22... 00.2. Citations from writers upon the law of nature and nations, showing the foundation of international law, its relations to the law of nature, and the sources from which the knowledge of it is to be MODI CUuna ame aes ed soler cer east en ae pas emas asgicee wees ae scctes : SECOND. The acquisition by Russia of jurisdictional or other rights over Bering Sea and the transfer thereof to the United States.....................0.0-. THIRD. The property of the United States in the Alaskan seal herds, and their right to protect their sealing interests and industry........222....... 22000. I, The property of the United States in the Alaskan seal herd ......... The form of the institution—community and private property. Ownership not absolute .. 2... c2os cos ccc so cweenccdccweses siecle Summary of doctrines established.............-20.eccccecccene Application of the foregoing principles to the question of pro- perty in the Alaskan herd of seals.............. 0.222. cscwee Principal facts in the life of the fur-seal.............-2........ Appendix to part third, division I (Mr. Carter’s argument) --...... Authorities upon the subject of property in animals, fere nature II. The right of the United States to protect their sealing interests and industry..-.. SeSoG Cusco ese ESOC Noe eee Cairns areas ae Appendix to part third, division II, (Mr. Phelps Argu- Additional authorities on the question of property.... FOURTEH. 10 27-40 69 75 108-129 108 130-179 180-189 180 190-214 215-227 215 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. SIXTH. ‘Page, Summary of the evidence .......---.------ -- +222 cree oe iwaewece oaacer scoose 220-010 I. The general nature and characteristics of the fur seal.......--.+.--- 230 II. The difference between the Alaskan and the Russian fur-seals...... 232 Ay Dhervherds are diterent 5222. 62 sccm oc wae ence cue same em eee 233 B. The Alaskan does not mingle with the Russian herd..-.......-.. 241 CG. The Alaskan fur-seals have but one home, namely, the Pribilof Islands. They never leave this home without the animus revertendi, and are never seen ashore except on those islands... 249 III. Movements of the seals after the birth of the young ..-...-----.-- 251 IV. The entire office of reproduction and rearing of young is and must pe petiormed On land... sos. oe foe se ecle ees ada ee a ee 254 V. The pup is entirely dependent upon its mother for nourishment for BReveral months after tts births. 22 2).22ses. cow eetae cases sees The cows will suckle their own pups only, and the suckling is dona on tands ese sconces na eten men wien tee Sete eee ere 261 VI. The cows, while suckling, go to the sea for food, and sometimes to distances as great as 100 and 200 miles, and are during such excursions exposed to capture by pelagic sealers......--..-.. 3 266 VII. Death of the cow causes the death of the pup -..-.. no da sealamaiee 269 VIII. The fur-seal is a polygamous animal, and the male is at least four times as large as the female. As a rule, each male serves about fifteen or twenty females, but in some cases as many as fifty or more (Case of the United States, p. 327) ..-...---.. 286 IX. Destruction by pelagic sealing and its extent—theremedy proposed by the British Commissioners—the true and only remedy con- sists in absolute prohibition of pelagic sealing..........-.---- 295 SEVENTH. Points in reply to the British Counter Case........ Sc aceeeacses suse scemeleenal WASHINGTON, February 23, 1893. Str: We have the honor to hand you herewith the argument pre- pared by us as counsel of the United States, in order that in pursuance of Article V of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, of 29th February, 1892, it may be presented to the Tribunal of Arbitra- tion constituted by that treaty. Very respectfully, your obedient servants, K. J. PHELPS. J. C. CARTER, H. M. BLODGETT, F. Rh. CouDERT. Hon. JoHN W. FOSTER, Agent of the United States, Cag . ® am ao ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The undersigned, counsel for the United States, conceive that before entering upon the argument which it has been made their duty to pre- pare, they owe more than a formal and ceremonious expression of their sense of the importance and dignity of the occasion and of the august character of the Tribunal which they are to address. Instances have heretofore occurred in which nations have submitted their controversies to peaceful arbitration; but the most important of them have been cases in which mere pecuniary reparation was sought in respect to acts which could not be recalled. To-day two most powerful nations agree that their conflicting claims to permanent dominion shall be reconciled and determined without a resort to those methods of violence which earry with them such limitless destruction and suffering. A just hom- age is thus paid to the civilized sentiment of mankind that war is sel- dom, if ever, necessary; and that the conclusions of reason should be made to supersede the employment of force. FIRST. WHAT LAW IS TO GOVERN THE DECISION? The undersigned believe it to be in a high degree important that it should at the outset be clearly understood what principles and rules are to guide the Arbitrators in reaching their conclusions. Otherwise no argument can be intelligently framed. We do not indeed appre- hend that there can be any serious difference of opinion upon this point. The consciousness and immediate conviction of every one having any part in the proceeding—Arbitrators and counsel alike—might be safely 1 2. j ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. appealed to for the response that the determination must be grounded upon principles of right. It can not be that two great nations have volun- tarily waited their own convictions and submitted their rival claims to the determinations of caprice, or merely temporary expediency. Itis not to such empty and shifty expedients that national pride and power have paid their homage. The arbitrament of force can be worthily replaced only by that of right. This Tribunal would be robbed of its supreme dignity, and its judgment would lose its value, if its deliberations should be swayed in any degree by considerations other than those of justice. Its proceedings would no longer be judicial. The nation for which the undersigned have the honor to be retained is prepared to accept and abide by any determination which this Tribunal may declare as the just conclusion of law upon the facts as established by the proofs. Tt ean not be content with any other. But what is the rule or principle of right? How is it to be described and where is it to be found?) The answer to this question, though not so iminediately obvious, is yet not open to doubt. In saying that the rule must be that of right, it is intended, and indeed declared, that it must be a moral rule, a rule dictated by the moral sense; but this may not be the moral sense as found in any individual mind, or as exhibited by the concurring sentiments of the people of any particular nation. There may be—there are—differences in the moral convictions of the people of different nations, and what is peculiar to one nation can not be asserted as the rule by which the conduct of another nation is to be controlied. The controversy to be determined arises between two (if- ferent nations, and it has been submitted to the judgment of a tribunal composed, in part, of the citizeis of several other nations, It is im- mediately obvious that it must be adjudged upon principles and rules which both nations and all the Arbitrators alike acknowledge; that is to say, those which are dictated by that general standard of justice upon which civilized nations are agreed; and this is international lav. Just as, in municipal societies, municipal law, aside from legislative enactments, is to be found in the general standard of justice which is acknowledged by the members of each particular state, so, in the larger society of nations, international law is to be found in the general stand- ard of justice acknowledged by the members of that society. There is, indeed, no legislation, in the ordinary sense of that word, for the society of nations; nor in respect to, by far, the larger part of the affairs of life is there any for municipal societies; and yet there is WHAT LAW IS TO GOVERN THE DECISION? 3 for the latter an always existing law by which every controversy may be determined. The only difference exhibited by the former is that it has no regularly-constituted body of experts, called judges, clothed with authority to declare the law. And this distinction is wiped away in the case of the present controversy by the constitu- tion of this tribunal. That there is an international law by which every controversy between nations may be adjudged and determined will scarcely be questioned anywhere; but here no such questioning is allowable. The parties to the controversy are, to employ a word familiar to them, estopped from raising it. They have voluntarily made themselves parties to a judicial proceeding. For what purpose is it that these nations have submitted rival claims to judicial decision if there is no legal rule which governs them? Why is it that they have provided for the selection of arbitrators preéminent for their knowl- edge of law, except that they intended that the law should determine their rival claims? Nay, what is the relevancy, or utility, of this very argument in which we are engaged unless there is an agreed standard of justice to which counsel can appeal and upon which they can hope to convince? The undersigned conceive that it will not be disputed that this arbitration was planned and must be conducted upon the as- sumption that there is no place upon the earth, and no transaction either of men or nations which is not subject to the dominion of kaw. Nor can there be any substantial difference of opinion concerning the sources to which we are to look for the international standard of justice which the undersigned have referred to as but another name for international law. Municipal and international law flow equally from the same source. Alli law, whether it be that which governs the conduct of nations, or of individuals, is but a part of the great domain of ethics. It is founded, in each case, upon the nature of man and the environment in which he is placed. The formal rules may indeed be varied according to the differing conditions for which they are framed, but the spirit and essence are everywhere and always the same. Says Sir James Mackintosh: The science which teaches the rights and duties of men and of states has in modern times been styled “the law of nature and nations.” Under this comprehensive title are included the ruies of morality, as they pre- scribe the conduct of private men towards each other in all the various relations of human life; as they regulate both the obedience of citizens to the laws, and the authority of the magistrate in framing laws and ad- ministering government; and as they modify the intercourse of inde- pendent commonwealths in peace and prescribe limits to their hostility 4 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. in war. This important science comprehends only that part of private ethics which is capable of being reduced to fixed and general rules.! And Lord Bacon has, in language often quoted, pointed to the law of nature as the source of all human jurisprudence: For there are in nature certain fountains of justice, whence all civil laws are derived but as streams, and like as waters do take tinctures and tastes from the soils through which they run, so do civil laws vary according to the regions and governments where they are planted, though they proceed from the same fountain.? This original and universal source of ail law is variously designated by different writers; sometimes as “the law of nature,” sometimes as “natural justice,” sometimes as ‘‘ the dictates of right reason;” but, however described, the same thing is intended. “The law of nature” is the most approved and widely employed term. The universal obli- gation which it imposes is declared by Cicero in a passage of lofty eloquence which has been the admiration of jurists in every succeeding age.® And the same doctrine is inculeated by the great teacher of the laws of England in language which may have been borrowed from the greaz Roman: This law of nature being coeval with mankind, and dictated by God himself, is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over the globe, in all countries, and at all times; no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this, and such of them as are valid derive all their force and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original.‘ The dependency of all law upon the law of nature is happily ex- pressed by Cicero in another often quoted passage: “ Lex est suprema ratio insita a natura que jubet ea que facienda sunt, prohibetque con- 1 Dissertation on the Law of Nature and Nations. 2De Augmentis Scientiarum, 3st quidem vera lex recta ratio naturae congruens, diffusa in omnes, constans, sempiterna, quae vocet ad officium jubendo, vetando a fraude deterreat, quae tamen neque probos frustra jubet aut vetat, nec improbos jubendo aut vetando movet. Huic legi nee obrogari fas est neque derogari ex hac aliquid licet neque tota abrogari po- test, nec vero aut per senatum aut per populum solvi hac lege possumus, neque est quaerendus explanator aut interpres ejus alius, nec eritala lex Roinae, alia Athenis, alia nune, alia posthac, sed et omnes gentes et omni tempore una lex et sempiterna et immutabilis continebit unusquisque erit communis quasi magister et imperator — omnium deus: ille legis hujus inventor,.disceptator, lator, cui qui non parebit, ipse se fugiet ac naturam hominis aspernatus hoe ipso luet maximas poenas, etiam si caetera supplicia quae putantur, effugerit.” (De Republica, Lib, II. Cap. XXII, § 33.) ¢ Blackstone, Com., Book I, p, 41. WHAT LAW IS TO GOVERN THE DECISION? 5 traria.”’ And it is very clearly illustrated by the fact that the great expositors of the Roman law in seeking for a concise formula which would express its original and fundamental principles, have simply borrowed or framed a statement of the dictates of natural justice: “ Juris precepta sunt hac: honesta-vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere.”” Some writers have been inclined to question the propriety of designat- ing as law that body of principles and rules which it is asserted are binding upon nations, for the reason that there is no common superior power which may be appealed to for their enforcement. But this is a superficial view which has received no considerable assent. The sib. lic opinion of the civilized world is a power to which all nations are forced to submit. No nation can afford to take up arms in defence of an assertion which is pronounced by that opinion to be erroneous. A recent writer of established authority has well answered this objection: It is sometimes said that there can be no law between nations, because they acknowledge no common superior authority, no intern: \- tional executive capable of enforcing the pr ecepts of international law. This objection admits of various answers: First, it is a matter of fact that states and nations recognize the existence and independence of each other, and out of arecognized society of nations, as out of a society of individuals, law must necessarily spring. The common rules of right approved by nations as regulating their intercourse are of themselves, as has been shown, such a law. Secondly, the contrary position con- founds two distinét things, namely, the physical sanction which law derives from being enforced by superior power, and the moral sanction conferred on it by the fundamental principle of right; the error is similar in kind to that which has led jurists to divide ‘mor al obliga- tions into perfect and imperfect. All moral obligations are equally perfect, though the means of compelling their performance is, humanly speaking, more or less perfect, as they more or less fall under the cog- nizance of human law. In like manner, international justice would not be less deserving of that appellation if the sanctions of it were wholly incapable of being enforced. But irrespectively of any such means of enforcement the law must remain. God has willed the society of States as He has willed the so- ciety of individuals. The dictates of the conscience of both may be violated on earth, but to the national as to the individual conscience, the language of a profound philosopher is applicable: “ Hadit strength as it had right, had it power as it has manifest authority, it would ab- solutely govern the world.” * * * * * * * Lastly, it may be observed on this head, that the history of the world, and especially of modern times, has been but incuriously and unprofitably read by him who has not perceived the certain Nemesis which overtakes the transgressors of international justice; for, to take an 1 Gic. De Legibus, Lib. I, c. VI, § 6. - 2Just. I, 1. 3 6 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. but one instance, what an “ Tliad of woes” did the precedent of the first partition of Poland open to the kingdoms who participated in that grievous infraction of international law! The Roman law nobly ex- presses a great moral truth in the maxim, “ Jurisjurandi contempta religio satis Deum habet ultorem.” The commentary of a wise and learned French jurist upon these words is remarkable and may not in. aptly close this first part of the work: ‘ Paroles (he says) qwon peut appliquer également a toute infraction des loix naturelles. La justice de PAuteur de ces loix west pas moins armée contre ceux qui les trans- eressent que contre les violateurs du serment, qui Wajoute rien a Pobli- gation de les observer, ni a la force de nos engagements, et qui ne sert qwa nous rappeler le souvenir de cette justice inexorable.” —(Philli- more’s International Law, third edition, London, 1879, vol. 1, section i,)" That there isa measure of uneertainty concerning the precepts of the law ofvature and, consequently, in international, law which is derived from it, is indeed true. This uncertainty in a greater or less degree is found in all the moral sciences. It is exhibited in municipal law, although not to so large an extent as ininternationallaw. Law is matter of opinion; and this differs in different countries and in different ages, and indeed between different minds in the same country and at the saine time. The loftiest precepts of natural justice taught by the most elevated and refined intelligence of an age may not be acquiesced in or appreciated by the majority of men. It is thus that the rules actually enforced by municipal law often fall short of the highest standard of natural justice. Erroneous decisions in municipal tribunals are of fre- quent occurrence. Such decisions, although erroneous, must necessarily be accepted as declarative of the rule of justice. They represent the 1'The duties of men, of subjects, of princes, of lawgivers, of magistrates, and of states are all parts of one consistent system of universal morality. Between the most abstract and elementary maxims of moral philosophy and the most complicated controversies of civil and public law there subsists a connection. The principle of justice deeply rooted in the nature and interests of man pervades the whole system and is discoverable in every part of it, even to the minutest ramification in a legal formality or in the construction of an article in a treaty.—(Sir James Macintosh, Discourse on the Law of Nature and Nations, sub fine.) Mr. Justice Story says: “The true foundation on which the administration of in- ternational law must rest is that the rules which are to govern are those which arise from mutual interest and utility, from a sense of the inconveniences which would result from a contrary doctrine, and from a sort of moral necessity to do justice in order that justice may be done to us in return.” (Contlict of Laws, ch. ii, sec. 35.) And, sitting as a judge, he declared: “ But I think it may be unequivocally affirmed that every doctrine that may be fairly deduced by correct reasoning from the rights and duties of nations and the nature of moral obligations may theoretically be said to exist in the law of nations; and, unless it be relaxed or waived by the con- sent of nations, which may be evidenced by their general practice and custom, it may be enforced by a court of justice wherever it arises in judgment.” (La Jeune Eugénie, 2 Mason’s Reports, p. 449.) WHAT LAW IS TO GOVERN THE DECISION? 7 national standard of justice accepted and adopted in states where they are pronounced. So far as they are wrong they will ultimately be cor- rected as nearer approaches are made to the truth. So also in inter- national law, the actual practice of nations does not always conform to the elevated precepts of the law of nature. In such cases, however, the actual practice must be accepted as the rule. It is this which exhibits what may be called the international standard of justice; that is tosay, that standard upon which the nations of the world are agreed. As municipal law embraces so much of natural justice, or the law of nature, as the municipal society recognizes and enforces upon its members, so, on the other hand, international law embraces so much of the same law of nature as the society of nations recognizes and enforces upon its members in their relations witheach other. The Supreme Court of the United States, speaking through its greatest Chief Justice, was obliged to declare in a celebrated case that slavery, though contrary to the law of nature, was not contrary to the law of nations; and an English judge, no less Ulustrious, was obliged to make a like declaration.!. Perhaps the same question would in the present more humane time be otherwise determined. But, although the actual practice and usages of nations are the best evidence of what is agreed upon as the law of nations, it is not the only evidence. These prove what nations have in fact agreed to as binding law. But, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, nations are to be presumed to agree upon what natural and universal justice dictates. It is upon the basis of this presumption that municipal law is from time to time developed and enlarged by the decisions of judicial tribunals and jurists which make up the unwritten municipal jurisprudence. Sovereign states are presumed to have sanctioned as law the general principles of justice, and this constitutes the authority of municipal tribunals to declare the law in cases where legislation is silent. They are not to conclude that no law exists in any particular case because it has not been provided for in positive legislation. So also in interna- tional law, if a case arises for which the practice and usages of nations have furnished no rule, an international tribunal like the present is not to infer that no rule exists. The consent of nations is to be presumed in favor of the dictates of natural justice, and that source never fails to supply a rule. If the foregoing observations are well founded, the law by which this 'The Antelope 10, Wheaton’s Reports, p. 120; The Louis, 2 Dods, 238. 8 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Tribunal is to be guided is the law of nations; and the sources to which we are to look for that law upon any question which may arise are these: First. The actual practice and usages of nations. These are to be learned from history in the modes in which their relations and inter- course with one another are conducted; in the acts commonly done by them without objection from other nations; in the treaties which they make with each other, although these are to be viewed with cireum- spection as being based often upon temporary and shifting considera- tions, and sometimes exacted by the more powerful from the weaker states; and in their diplomatic correspondence with each other, in which supposed principles of the law of nations are invoked and acceded to. Second. The judgments of the courts which profess to declare and administer the law of nations, such as prize courts and, in some in- stances, courts of admiralty, furnish another means of instruction. Third. Where the above mentioned sources fail to furnish any rule resort is to be had to the great source from which all law flows, the dictates of right reason, natural justice; in other words, the law of nature. Fourth. And in ascertaining what the law of nature is upon any particular question, the municipal law of States, so far as it speaks with a concurring voice, is a prime fountain of knowledge. This is for the reason that that law involves the law of nature in nearly every con- ceivable way in which it speaks, and has been so assiduously cultivated by the study of ages that few questions concerning right and justice among men or nations can be found for which it does not furnish a solution. Fifth. And, finally, in all cases, the concurring authority of jurists of established reputation who have made the law of nature and nations a study is entitled to respect. Mr. Chief Justice Marshall has expressed from the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States what we conceive to be the true rule. He says: The law of nations is the great source from which we derive those rules respecting belligerent and neutral rights which are recognized by all civilized and commercial states throu ghout Europe and America. This law is in part unwritten, and in part conventional. To ascertain that which is unwritten we recur to the great principles of reason and justice; but as these principles will be differently understood by dif- ferent nations under different circumstances, we consider them as being, in some degree, rendered fixed and stable by a series of judicial decisions. The decisions of the courts of every country, so far as they are founded upon a law common to every country, will be received WHAT LAW IS TO GOVERN THE* DECISION ? 9 not as authority, but with respect. The decisions of the courts of every country show how the law of nations, in the given case, is under- stood in that country, and will be considered in adopting the rule which is to prevail in this.! JAMES C, CARTER. 1Sixty Hogsheads of Sugar v. Boyle, 9 Cranch, 191, 197. ' The views stated in the text concerning the foundation of the law of nations and the sources from which it is to be gathered, are, it is believed, supported by the concurrent voices of writers of established authority. Differences will be found in the modes of statement; but there seems to be no substantial disagreement. A col- lection of extracts from many writers of different nations will be found in the Appen- dix immediately following. 10 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. APPENDIX TO PART FIRST (MR. CARTER’S ARGUMENT). CITATIONS FROM WRITERS UPON THE LAW OF NATURE AND NATIONS, SHOWING THE FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, ITS RELATIONS TO THE LAW OF NATURE, AND THE SOURCES FROM WHICH THE KNOWLEDGE OF IT IS TO BE DERIVED. [POMEROY. Lectures on International Law, ed., 1886., ch. 1, secs. 29, 30, 31, 33, pages 25-26. | Src. 29, (2) A large number of rules which govern the mutual rela- tions of states in their corporate capacity are properly called interna- tional law, on account of the objects which they subserve and the rights and duties they create. They are also properly lav, because they have been established by particular states as a part of their own municipal systems, and are enforeed by their judiciary and executive in the same manneras other portions of the local codes. They are in fact principles of the law of nature or morality put in the form of human commands, and clothed with a human sanction. (3) What is called international law in its general sense, I would term international morality. It consists of those rules founded upon justice and equity, and deduced by right reason, according to which independent states are accustomed to regulate their mutual inter- course, and to which they conform their mutual relations. These rules have no binding force in themselves as law; but states are more and more impelied to observe them by a deference to the gen- eral public opinion of Christendom, by a conviction that they are right in themselves, or at least expedient, or by a fear of provoking hostilities. This moral sanction is so strong and is so constantly increasing In its power and effect, that we may with propriety say these rules create rights and corresponding duties which belong to and devolve upon in- dependent states in their corporate political capacities. Sec. 30. We thus reach the conclusion that a large portion of inter- national law is rather a branch of ethics than of positive human juris- prudence. This fact, however, affords no ground for the jurist or the student of jurisprudence to neglect the science. Indeed, there is the greater advantage in its study. Its rules are based upon abstract jus- tice; they are in conformity with the deductions of right reason; hay- ing no positive human sanction they appeal to a higher sanction than do the precepts of municipal codes. All these features clothe them with a nobler character than that of the ordinary civil jurisprudence, as God’s law is more perfect than human legislation. Src. 31. The preceding analysis of the nature and characteristics of international law enables us to answer the general question, What are its sources? If we confine our attention to that portion which is in every sense of the term strictly international, and is therefore, as we have seen, morality rather than law, these sources are plainly seen to be: (1) The Divine law; (2) Enlightened reason acting upon the ab- stract principles of ethics; and’ (3) The consent of nations in adopting the particular rules thus drawn from the generalities of the moral law APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. ‘let by the aid of rightreason. It is only with this portion of international law that we need now concern ourselves. That other portion which I have already described as international only in its objects, and strictly national and municipal in its creation and sanctions, springs from the same sources whence allof the internal law ot a particular State arises— from legislatures and the decisions ot courts. We will then briefly con- sider these principal sources, or,if I may use the expression, fountains from which flow the streams of the jus inter gentes. SEC. 33. (2) Reason. But the precepts of the moral law, either as con- tained in the written word, or as felt in the consciousness of the human race, are Statements of broad, general principles; they are the germs, the fructifying powers; they must be developed, must be cast in a more practical and dogmatic form to meet the countless demands of each in- dividual, and of the societies we call nations. To this end we must appeal to reason; and hence the second source which I have mentioned, namely, enlightened reason acting upon the abstract principles of morality. I can not now stop to illustrate this proposition; we shall meet many pertinent examples in the course of our investigations. I wish now, however, to dwell upon one fact of great importance—a fact which will help you to avoid many difficulties, to reconcile many dis- crepancies, to solve many uncertaincies. This fact is, that an interna- tional law is mainly based upon the general prince iples of pure morality, and as its particular rules are mainly drawn therefrom, or are intended to be drawn therefrom, by reason, it is, as a science, the most progres- sive of any department of jurisprudence or legislation. The improve- ment of civilized nations in culture and refinement, the more complete understanding of rights and duties, the growing ‘appreciation of the truth that what is right is also expe dient, “have told, and still do tell, upon it with sudden and surprising effect. The result is that doctrines which were universally received a gener- ation since are as universally rejected now; that precedents which were universally considered as binding a quarter of a century ago would at the present be passed by as without force, as acts which could not endure the light of more modern investigation. More par- ticularly is this true in ‘respect to the rules which define the rights of belligerents and neutrals. The latest works of European jurists are, as we Shall see, conceived in a far different spirit from standard treat- ises of the former generation. It was the entire ignoring or forgetful- ness of this evident and most benign fact by Mr. Senator Sumner, in the celebrated and elaborate speech which he delivered a few years Since upon the international policy of England, that rendered the speech utterly useless as an argument, exposed it to the criticism of European jurists, and left it only a monument of unnecessary labor in raking up old precedents from history, which no civilized nation of our own day would quote or rely upon. The Roman law, that wonderful result of reason working upon a basis of abstract right, is largely appealed to in international discussions, as containing rules which, at least by analogy, may serve to settle inter- national disputes. Noone can be an accomplished diplomatist without a familiar acquaintance with much of this immortal code. [Phillimore. International law, 1871, ch. 11, pages 14-28.] XIX. * * * What are in fact the fountains of international jurisprudence?” * * * XX. Grotius enumerates these sources as being “ipsa natura, leges divine, mores, et pacta.” 12 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. In 1755 the British Government made an answer toa memorial of the Prussian Government which was termed by Montesquieu réponse sans réplique, and which has been generally recognized as one of the ablest expositions of international law ever embodied in a state paper. In this memorable document “The Law ot Nations” is said to be founded upon justice, equity, convenience, and the reason of the thing and con- firmed by long usage. XXI. These two statements may be said to embrace the substance of all that can be said on this subject. * * * XXII. Moral persons are governed partly by Divinelaw, * * * which ineludes natural law—partly, by positive instituted human law. * * * States, if has been said, are reciprocally recognized as moral per- sons. States are therefore governed, in their mutual rel: itions, partly by Divine and partly by positive law. Divine law is either (1) that which is written by the finger of God on the heart of man, when it is alled natural law ; or (2) “that which has been mir: culously made known to him. * eo XXIII. The primary source, then, of international jurisprudence is Divine law. XXVI. * * * Cicero maintains that God has given to all men conscience and intellect; that where these exist, a law exists, of which all men are common subjects. Where there is a common law, he argues, there is a common right, binding more closely and visibly upon the mem- bers of each separate state, but so knitting together the universe, wt jam universus hic mundus una civitas sit, communis Deorwm atque homi- num existimanda.” That law, this great jurist says, is immortal and unalterable by prince or people, * * + XXXII. This would be called by many who have of late years written on the science, international morality; they would restrict the term law absolutely and entirely to the treaties, the customs, and the practice of nations. If this were a mere question as to the theoretical arrangement of the subject of international law, it wouid be of but little importanee. * * * But itis of great practical importance to mark the sub- ordination of the law derived from the consent of states to the law de- rived from God. XXXII. * * * Another practical consequence is that the law derived from the consent of Christian states is restricted in its opera- tion by the divine law; and just as it is not morally competent to any individual state to make laws which are at variance with the law of God, whether natural or revealed, so neither is it morally competent to any assemblage of states to make treaties or adopt customs which con- travene that law. Positive law, whether national or international, being only declara- tory, may add to, but can not take from, the prohibitions of divine law. “Civilis ratio civilia quidem jura corrumpere potest, naturalia non utique,” is the language of Roman law; and is in harmony with the voice of international juri isprudence as uttered by Wolff: “Absit vero, ut existimes, jus gentium voluntarium ab ecarum voluntate ita profis- cisci, ut Libera sit earum in eodem condendo voluntas, et stet pro ratione sola voluntas, nulla habita ratione juris naturalis.” XXXII. This branch of the subject may be well concluded by the invocation of some high authorities from the jurisprudence of all countries in support of the foregoing opinion. APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 13 Grotius says emphatically: “Nimirum humana jura MULTA constit- uere possunt PRBTER naturam, CONTRA nihil.” John Voet speaks with great energy to the same effect: ‘ Quod si contra recte rationis dictamen gentes USU quedam introduxcerint, NON ea jus gentium recté dixeris, SED PESSIMAM POTIUS MORUM NUMANI GEN- ERIS CORRUPTELAM.” Suarez, who has discussed the philosophy of law in a chapter which contains the germ of most that has been written upon the subject, says: * Leges autem ad jus gentium pertinentes vere leges sunt, ut expli- catum manet, propinquiores sunt legi naturali quam leges civiles, ideoque impossibile est esse contrarias equitati naturali.” Wolff, speaking of his own time, says: “ Omnium feré animos occupavit perversa illa opinio, QUASI FONS JURIS GENTIUM SIT UTILITAS PRO- PRIA; undue contingit, id potentia cowquari, Damnamus hoc in privatis, damnamus in rectore civitatis; sed AQUE IDEM DAMNANDUM EST IN GENTIBUS.” Mackintosh nobly sums up this great argument: “The duties of men, of subjects, of princes, of lawgivers, of magistrates, and of states, are all parts of one consistent system of universal morality. Between the most abstract and elementary maxim of moral philosophy, and the most complicated controversies of civil or public law, there subsists < connection. The principle of justice, deepiy rooted in the nature and interest of man, pervades the whole system, and is discoverable in every part of it, even to its minutest ramification in a legal formality, or in the construction of an article in a treaty.” [Henry Sumner Maine, International Law, pages 13-47. ] In modern days the name of International Law has been very much confined to rules laid down by one particular class of writers. They may be roughly said to begin in the first half of the seventeenth cen- tury, and to run three parts through the eighteenth century. The names which most of us know are, first of all that of the great Hugo Grotius, followed by Puifendorf, Leibnitz, Zouch, Selden, Wolf, Bynker- shoek, and Vattel. The list does not absolutely begin with Grotius, nor does it exactly end with Vattel, and indeed, as regards the hither end of this series the assumption is still made, and I think not quite fortunately, that the race of law-creating jurists still exists. * * * Their [the writers named and a few others] system is that convention- ally known as International Law. * * * * * * * A great part, then, of International Law is Roman law spread over Europe by a process exceedingly like that which a few centuries earlier had caused other portions of Roman law to filter into the interstices of every European legal system. The Roman element in International Law belonged, however, to one special province of the Roman system, that which the Romans themselves called natural law, or, by an alter- native name, Jus Gentium. In a book published some years ago on ‘“ Ancient Law” I made this remark: ‘Setting aside the Treaty Law of Nations, it is surprising how large a part of the system is made up of pure Roman law. Wherever there is a doctrine of the Roman juris- consults affirmed by them to be in harmony with the Jus Gentium, the Publicists have found a reason for borrowing it, however plainly it may bear the mark of a distinctive Roman origin.” * * * Seen in the light of stoical doctrine the law of nations came to be identified with the law of nature; that is to say, with a number of sup- 14 * ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, posed principles of conduct which man in society obeys simply because heisman. Thus the law of nature is simply the law of nations seen in the light of a peculiar theory. A passage in the Roman institutes shows that the e xpressious were practically convertible. The greatest function of the law of nature was discharged in giving birth to modern international law. * * * The impression that the Roman law sustained a system of what would now be called international law, and that this system was iden- tical with the law of nature had undoubtedly much influence in causing the rules of what the Romans called natural law to be engrafted on, and identified with, the modern law of nations (page 28). It is only necessary to look at the earliest authorities on international law, in the “De Jure Belli et Pacis” of Grotius for example, to see that the law of nations is essentially a moral and, to some extent, a religious system. Theappeal of Grotius is almost as frequent to morals and religion as to precedent, and no doubt it is these portions of the book * * * which gained for it much of the authority which it ultimately obtained. (Page 47.) [From Wheaton, International Law, part I, ch. 1, sees. 4, 14.] The principles and details of international morality, as distinguished from international law, are to be obtained not by applying to ations the rules which ought to govern the conduct of individuals, but by as- certaining what are the rules of international conduct which, on the whole, best promote the general happiness of mankind. International |: LW, as understood among civilized nations, may be de- fined as consisting of those rules of conduct which reason deduces, as consonant to justice, from the nature of the society existing among independent nations; with such definitions and modific: ations as may be established by general consent. Keut’s Commentaries, Part 1, lect. 1, pages 2-4. ? ) ? t=} * * * The most useful and practical part of the law of nations is, no doubt, instituted or positive law, founded on usage, consent, and agreement, But it would be improper to separate this law entirely from natural jurisprudence and not to consider it as deriving much of its force and dignity from the same prine iples of right reason, the same views of the nature and constitution of man, and the same sanction of divine revelation, as those from which the science of morality is deduced, There is a natural and a positive law of nations. By the former every State, In ifs relations with other states, is bound to conduct itself with justice, good faith, and benevolence; and this application of the law of nature has been called by Vattel the necessary law of nations, because nations are bound by the law of nature to observe it; and it is termed by others the internal law of nations, because it is obligatory upon them in point of conscience. We ought not, therefore, to separate the science of public law from that of ethics, nor encourage the dangerous suggestion that govern- ments are not so strictly bound by the obligations of truth, justice, and humanity, in relation to other powers, as they are in the management of their own local concerns. Statesor bodies politic are to be ¢ onsidered as moral persons, having a publie will, capable and free to do right and wrong, inasmuch as they are collections of individuals, each of whom arries with him into the service of the community the same binding law of norality and religion which ought to control his conduct im pri- APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. nea vate life. The law of nations is a complex system, composed of various ingredients. It consists of general principles of right and justice, equally suitable to the gover nment of individuals in a state of natural equality and to the relations and conduct of nations; of a collection of usages, customs, and opinions, the growth of civilization and commerce, and of. a code of conventional or positiv e law. - In the absence of these latter regulations, the intercourse and con- duct of nations are to be governed by principles fairly to be deduced from the rights and duties of nations end the nature of moral obliga- tion; and we have the authority of the lawyers of antiquity, and of some of the first masters in the modern school of public law, for plac- ing the moral obligation of nations and of individuals on similar grounds, and for considering individual and national morality as parts of one and the same science. The law of nations, so far as it is founded on the principles of natural law, is equally binding in every age and upon all mankind. * * * {[Halleck, International Law, ch. 0, sec. 13, page 50, and sec. 18, page 54.] Src. 13. It is admitted by all that there is no universal or immutable law of nations, binding upon the whole human race, which all mankind in all ages and countries have recognized and obeyed. Nevertheless, there are certain principles of action, a certain distinction between right and wrong, between justice and injustice, a certain divine or natural law, or rule of right reason, which, in the words of Cicero, ‘is congenial to the feelings of nature, diffused among all men, uniform, eternal, commanding us to our duty, and prohibiting every violation of it; one eternal and immortal law, which can neither be repealed nor derog ated from, addressing itself to all nations and all ages, deriving its authority from the common Sovereign of the universe, seeking 110 other lawgiver and interpreter, carrying home its sanctions to every breast, by the inevitable punishment He inflicts on its transgressors. ” Iti is to these principles or rule of right, reason, or natural law, that all other laws, whether founded on custom or treaty , must be referr ed, and their binding force determined. If, in accordance with the spirit of this natural law, or if innocent in themselves, they are binding upon all who have adopted them; but if they are in violation of this law, and -are unjust in their nature and effects, they are without force. The prin- ciples of natural justice, applied to the conduct of states, considered as moral beings, must therefore constitute the foundation upon which the customs, usuages, and conventions of civilized and christian nations are erected into a grand and lofty temple. The character and dura- bility of the structure must depend upon the skill of the architect and the nature of the materials; but the foundation is as broad as the prin- ciples of justice, and as immutable as the law of God. SEc. 18. The first source from which are deduced the rules of con- duct which ought to be observed between nations, is the divine laa, or principle of justice, which has been defined “a constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due.” The peculiar nature of the society existing among independent states, renders it more difficult to apply this principle to them than,to individual members of the same state; and there is, therefore, less unifor mity of opinion with respect to the rules of international law properly deducible from it, than with respect to the rules of moral law governing the intercourse of indi- vidual men. Itis, perhaps, more properly speaking, the test by which the rules of positive international law are tobe judged, rather than the 16 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. source from which these rules themselves are deduced. (Justinian, In- stitutes, lib. 1, tit. 1; Phillimore, On Int. Law, Vol. 1, see. 23; Dymond, Prin. of Morality, Essay 1, pt. 2, ch. 4; Manning, Law of Nations, pp. 57-58; Cotelle, Droit des Gens, pt. 1; Heineccius, Elementa Juris Nat. et Gent., lib. 1, cap. 1, sec. 12.) [Woolsey: Introduction International Law, ed. 1892, sec. 15, page 14.] Sec.15. * * * But what are the rational and moral grounds of international law? As we have seen, they are the same in general with those on which the rights and obligations of individuals in the state and of the single state towards the individuals of which it consists, repose. If we define natural jus to be the science which from the nature and destination of man determines his external relations in society, both the question, What ought to be the rights and obligations of the individual in the state? and the e question, What those of a state among states ought to be? fall within this branch of science. That there are such rights and obligations of states will hardly be doubted by those who admit that these relations of natural justice exist in any case. There is the same reason why they should be applied in regulat- ing the intercourse of states as in regulating that of individuals. There is a natural destination of states, and a divine purpose in their existence, which makes it necessary that they should have certain functions and powers of acting within a certain sphere, which external - force may not invade. It would be strange if the state, that power which defines rights and makes them real, which creates moral persons or associations with rights and obligations, should have no such rela- tions of its own—should bea physical and not a moral entity. In fact, to take the opposite ground would be to maintain that there is no right and wrong in the intercourse of states, and to leave their conduct to the sway of mere convenience. (Wolff, quoted by Vattel, preface to seventh American ed., page Ix. ] Nations do not, in their mutual relations to each other, acknowl- edge any other law than that which nature herself has established. Perhaps, therefore, it may appear superfluous to give a treatise on the law of nations as distinet from the law of né iture. But those who entertain this idea have not sufficiently studied the subject. Nations, it is true, can only be considered as so many individual persons living together in the state of nature; and, for that reason, we must apply to them all the duties and rights which nature prescribes and attributes to men in general, as being naturally born free, and bound to each other by no ties but those of nature alone. The law which arises from this application, and the obligations resulting from it, proceed from that immutable law founded on the nature of man; and thus the law of nations certainly belongs to the law of nature; it is, therefore, on ac- count of its origin, called the natural, and, by reason of 1ts obligatory force, the necessary, law of nations. That law is common to all nations; and if any one of them does not respect it in her actions, she violates the common rights of all the others. But nations or sovereign States being moral persons and the subjects of the obligations and rights resulting, in virtue of the law of nature, from the act of association which has formed the political body, the nature and esseuce of these moral persons necessarily differ, in many respects, from the nature and essence of the physical individuals, or APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. a er men, of whom they are composed. When, therefore, we would apply to nations the duties which the law of nature prescribes to individual man, and the rights it confers on him in order to enable him to fulfill his duties, since those rights and those duties can be no other than what are consistent with the nature of their subjects, they must, in their application, necessarily undergo a change suitable to the new sub- jects to which they are applied. Thus, we see that the law of nations does not, in every particular, remain the same as the law of nature, regulating the actions of individuals. Why may it not, therefore, be separately treated of as a law peculiar to nations? [From ‘Des Droits et des Devoirs des Nations Neutres en Temps de Guerre Mari- time,” par L. B. Hautefeuille, 1848, vol. 1, pages 46, 12 et seg. Translation. ] He (God) bas given to nations and to those who govern them a law which they are to observe towards each other, an unwritten law, it is true, but a law which He has taken care to engrave in indelible char- acters in the heart of every man, a law which causes every human being to distinguish what is true from what is false, what is just from what is unjust, and what is beautiful from what is not beautiful. It is the divine or natural law; it constitutes what I shall call primitive law. This law is the only basis and the only source of international law. By going back to it, and by carefully studying it, we may succeed in retracing the rights of nations with accuracy. Every other way leads infallibly to error, to grave, nay, deplorable error, since its immediate result is to blind nations and their rulers, to lead them to misunder- stand their duties, to violate them, and too often to shed torrents of hu- man blood in order to uphold unjust pretensions. The divine law is not written, it has never been formulated in any human language, it has never been promulgated by any legislator; in fact, this has never been possible, because such legislator, being man and belonging toa nation, was from that very fact without any authority over other nations, and had no power to dietate laws to them. This lack of a positive text has led some publicists to deny the existence of the natural law, and to reject its application. They have based their action in so doing more particularly upon the different way in which each individual interprets that law, according as his organiza- tion is more or less perfect, more or less powerful, if I may thus express myself; hence, it results that this law is different for each individual and for each nation, that is to say, that it does notexist. One of these writers, in support of his denial of the natural law, lays down the prin- ciple that man brings nothing with him into this world except feelings of pain or pleasure, and inclinations that seek to be satisfied, which can never be entitled to the name of laws, since they vary according to the organization of each individual, because they are by no means the same among all nations and in all climates.! These opinions would perhaps have some appearance of reason if the natural law were represented as a written system of legislation or as a complete code similar to those which govern human society and the members who compose it. Then it might be said with Moser: “ What 1 What is natural in man is his feelings of pain or pleasure, his inclinations; but to call these feelings 4nd inclinations laws, is to introduce a false and dangerous view and to put language in contradiction with itself, for laws must be made for the very purpose of repressing these inclinations, * * * (Jeremy Bentham, False Manner of Keasoning in Matters of Legislation.) 14749 2 18 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. is this law which is so much talked about? Must we seek its princi- ples in Grotius or Hobbes?”! Some one might ask to see that code which is destined to prevent all wars by foreseeing and condemning all unjust claims in advance. It is not thus, however, that the natural law is presented by those au- thors who have taken its teac hings as the basis of their writings; they have never sought to give it a body or to put it in the form of a written law. What is true, and, in my opinion, incontestable, is that notions of what is just and what is unjust are found in all men; it is that all individuals of the human race that are in the enjoyment of reason have these notions graven upon their hearts, and that they bring with them into the world when they are born. These notions do not extend to all the details of law as do civil laws, but they have reterence to all the most prominent points of law, if I may thus express myself. It can not be denied that the idea of property is a natural and innate idea. The same is the case with the idea which impels every individ- ual to exercise care for his own preservation with that which forbids men to enrich themselves at the expense of others; which imposes the obligation to repair a wrong done to one’s fellow-inan, to perform a promise made, ete., ete. These first and innate notions, which every man brings with him into the world when he is born, are the precepts of the natural law; and human laws are all the more perfect the nearer they approach to these divine precepts. The natural or divine law is the only one that can be applied among nations—among beings free from every bond and having no interest in common. From these general ules of divine law it is easy to form secondary laws having for their object the settlement of all questions that can arise among all the peoples of the universe. To cite but a single exam- ple, it is evident that from the principle of the law emanating from God, that every nation is free and independent of every other nation (which principle is recognized by all nen), this consequence results, which is necessary and absolute, as is the principle itself, viz: That every na- tion may freely exchange its superfluous possessions, trade with whoin- soever if may choose to seek in order to make such exchange and to carry on such trade, without being under any necessity of applying for the permission of a third nation. The only condition that it must ful- fill is that it must obtain the consent of the other party to the contract. It need not trouble itself about the annoyance that such exchange may sause a third nation, provided such trade does not interfere with the positive and natural rights of such nation. This second rule gives rise to several others which are as clear and absolute as it isitself. In a word, all international law is the outgrowth of natural and primitive law. Viewed in this light, it seems to me in- possible to dispute the existence of the primitive law; it is a kind of mathematical truth, and I do not fear to reply to Moser; the principles of this law are not only in Grotius and Hobbes, but they are in the hearts of all men, they are in the heart of you who ask where they are found. International law is, therefore, based upon the divine and primitive law; it is all derived from this source. By the aid of this single law, I firmly believe that it is not only possible, but even easy, to regulate all relations that exist or may exist among the nations of the universe. This common and POBLIN ELE contains all the rules of Justice; it exists 1 (Moser, op ssai sur le droit des gens des plus madernde des nations européennes en paix et en guerre, 1778-1780.”) APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. aes independently of all legislation of all human institutions, and it is one for all nations. It governs peace and war, and traces the none and duties of every position, The rights which it gives are clear, positive, and absolute; they are of such a nature as to reciproe ally Timit each other without ever coming into collision or contradiction with each other; they are correlative to each other, and are coordinated and linked with the most perfect nannGay: It can not be otherwise. He who has arranged all the parts of the universe in so admirable a man- ner, the Oreator of the w orld, could not contradict himself. * * * * * * * The natural law is, from its very nature, always obligatory. The treaties which recall its provisions and regulate their application must necessarily have the same perpetuity, since, even if they should cease to exist, the principles would not cease to be executory just as they were when the stipulations were in force. * * * Certain usages have become established among civilized nations without ever having been written in any treaty, and without ever hav- ing formed the subject of any special and express agreement. These usages, fewin number, in harmony with primitive law, whose applica- tion : they serve to regulate, form a part of international Taw which might be called the law of ¢ ustoms it seems to me preferable to consider them as a part of secondary law. [From “Le Droit de la Nature et des Gens,” par le Baron de Pufendorf, traduit du Latin par Jean Barbeyrac. 5th ed., Vol. 1, Book 2, chap. 3, sec. 23, pages 243 et seq. Translation. | Finally, we must further examine here, whether there is a positive law of nations, different from the natural law. Learned men are not well agreed on this subject. Many think that the natural law and the law of nations are, in point of fact, but one and the same thing, and that they differ in name only. Thus, Hobbes divides the natural law into natural law of man and natural law of states. The latter, in his opinion, is what is called the law of nations. “The maxims,” adds he, ‘of both these laws are precisely the same; but as states, as soon as they are found, acquire, to a certain extent, personal characteristics, the same law that is called natural, when the duties of private indi- viduals are mentioned, is called the law of nations when reference is made to the whole body of a state or nation.” I fully subscribe to this view, and I recognize no other kind of volun- tary or positive international law, at least none having force of law, prop- erly so called, and binding upon nations as emanating from a superior. There is, in fact, no variance between our opinion and that of certain learned men who regard that which is in harmony with a reasonable nature as belonging to natural law, and that which is based upon our needs, which can not be better provided for than by the laws of socia- bility, as belonging to the law of nations. For we maintain simply that there is no positive law of nations that is dependent. upon the will of a superior. And that which is a consequence of the needs of human nature should, in my opinion, be referred to the natural law. If we have not thought proper to base this law upon the agreement of the things which are its object, with a reasonable nature, this was in order not to establish in reason itself the rule of the maxims of reason, and to avoid the circle to which is reduced the demonstration of the natural laws by this method. Moreover, the majority of the things which the Roman jurisconsults and the ereat body of learned men refer to the law of nations, such 20 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. as the different kinds of acquisition, contracts, and other similar things, either belong to the natural law or form part of the civil law of every nation. And, although in regard to those things which are not based upon the universal constitution of the human race, the laws are the same among the majority of the nations, no particular kind of law results from this, for it is not in virtue of any agreement or of any mutual obliga- tion that these Jaws are common to several peoples, but purely and simply from an effect of the particular will of the legislators of each State, who have by chance agreed in ordering or forbidding the same things. Hence it is that a single people can change these laws of its own accord without consulting others, as has frequently been done. We must not, however, absolutely reject the opinion of a modern writer, who claims that the Roman jurisconsults -understand by law of nations that law which concerns those acts which foreigners could per- form, and the business which they could validly transact in the states belonging to the Roman people, in contrast with the civil law that was particular to Roman citizens. Hence it was that wills and marriages, which were valid among citizens only were referred to civil law, while contracts were considered as coming under the law of nations, because foreigners could make them with citizens in such a manner that they were valid before the Roman courts of justice. Many also apply the name law of nations to certain customs, especially in matters relating to war, which are usually practiced by a kind of tacit consent, among the majority of nations, at least among those that pride themselves on having some courtesy and humanity. In fact, inasmuch as civilized nations have attached the highest glory to distinction in war; that is to say, to daring and knowing how skill- fully to cause the death of a large number of persons, which has in all ages given rise to many unnecessary or even unjust wars, conquerors, in order not to render themselves wholly odious by their ambition, have thought proper, while claiming every right that one has in a just war—have thought proper, I say, to mitigate the horrors of war and of military expeditions by some appearance of humanity and magna- nimity. Hence the usage of sparing certain kinds of things and cer- tain classes of persons, of observing some moderation in acts of hos- tility, of treating prisoners in a certain way, and other similar things. Yet while such customs seem to involve some obligation, based at least upon a tacit agreement, if a prince in a just war fails to observe them, provided that by taking an opposite course he does not violate natural law, he can be accused of nothing more than a kind of dis- courtesy, in that he has not observed the received usage of those who regard war as being one of the liberal arts; just as among fencing masters, one who has not wounded his man according to the rules of art is regarded as an ignorant person. Thus, so long as none but just wars are carried on, the maxims of natural law alone may be consulted, and all the customs of other nations may be set at naught unless one is interested in conforming thereto, so as to induce the enemy to perform less rigorous acts of hostility against us and against our party. Those, however, who undertake an unjust war, do well to follow these customs, so as to maintain at least some moderation in their injustice. As, however, these are not reasons that are generally to be considered, they can constitute no universal law, obligatory upon all nations; especially since in all things that are only based upon tacit consent anyone may decline to be bound by them by expressly declaring that he will not be so bound, and that he is willing that others should not be thereby bound in their dealings with him, APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 21 We observe that not a few of these customs have, in course of time been abolished, and that in some cases directly opposite customs have been introduced. In vain has a certain writer impugned our opinion as if it were sub- versive of the foundations of the safety, advantage, and welfare of na- tions; for all that is not dependent upon the customs just referred to, but upon the observance of the natural law, whichis a much more solid principle and one deserving of much greater respect. If its rules are carefully observed, mankind will not have much need of these customs. Moreover, by basing a custom upon the maxims of natural law, a much more noble origin is given it, and also much greater authority than if it were made to depend upon a mere agreement among nations. [Ortolan. International Rules and Diplomacy of the Sea. Paris, 1864, vol. 1, book I, ch. Iv., page 71. Translation. ] It is apparent that nations not having any common legislator over them have frequently no other recourse for determining their respec tive rights but to that reasonable sentiment of right and wrong, but to those moral truths already brought to light and to those which are still to be demonstrated. This is what is meant when it is said that natural law is the first basis of international law. This is why it is important that Governments, diplomats, and publicists that act, negotiate, or write upon such matters should have deeply (rooted) in themselves this sentiment of right and of wrong which we have just defined, as well as the knowledge of the point of certainty (point de certitude) where the human mind “has been able to attain this order of truths. But nations are not reduced only to that light, too often uncertain of human reason, for defining their reciprocal rights. Experience, imitation of accomplished prec edents, and long pr actical usage habit- ually and generally observed add to it what is termed a custom which forms the rule of international conduct and from which flows on one or the other side positive rights (adroits). The binding force of custom is founded on consent, the tacit agreement, of nations. Nations have thus tacitly agreed among themselves, and they have bound them- selves through this tacit agreement, for the reason that they have practiced it so long and so generally. The supremacy of custom is much more frequently exercised and much more extensive in international law than in private law; pre- cisely because in international law there is no common legislator to restrain such supremacy by formulating the rule of conduct in writ- ing. Custom is often comformable to the light of reason upon that which is right or wrong because it emanates from communities or col- lections of ‘Teasonable beings; but frequently also it is contrary to it, because the reason of man, individual or collective, is subject to error; finally, it tends more and more intimately to approach it, because the path of man, an essentially perfectible bein g, is a path of improvement and progress. * * * * * * * It must be stated that treaties, far from justifying the exclusion of moral truths of what is right or wrong, among nations, which one wishes to deduce from them, precisely only obtain their binding force but from one or the other of those truths. It is because the natural sentiment of right dictates to all that a regular agreement of inde- pendent wills between qualified persons on allowable subj ects and cases binds the contracting parties to each other, it is therefore that treaties 22 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. are recognized as obligatory. They only draw, therefore, their funda- mental authority except from natural law, employing for an instant this term, the sense of which we liave before explained. And it is also from natural law that is generally deduced the idea of the necessary conditions to establish the validity of treaties, and that of the legitimate consequences ensuing from their violation. [From “ A Methodical System of Universal Law,” by J. G. Heineccius (Turnbull’s Translation), vol. 1., ed. 1763.] Sec. XIT, page 8: The law of nature, or the natural rule of recti- tude, is a system of ‘law promulgated by the eternal God to the whole human race by reason. But if you would rather consider it as a science, natural morality will be rightly defined the practical habit of discovering the will of the supreme legislator by reason, and of apply- ing it as a rule to every particular case that occurs. Now, because it consists in deducing and applying a rule coming from God, it may be justly called divine jurisprudence. Src. XXI, page 14: *Since the law of nature comprehends all the laws promulgated to mankind by right reason; and men may be con- sidered either as particulars singly, or as they are united in certain political bodies or societies; we call that law, by which the actions of particulars ought to be governed, the law of nature, and we call that the law of nations, which determines what is just and unjust in society or between societies. And therefore the precepts, or the laws of both are the same; nay, the law of nations is the law of nature itself, re- specting or applied to social life and the affairs of societies and inde- pendent states. Src. XXII, page 15: Hence we may infer, that the law of nature doth not differ from the law of nations, neither in respect of its foundation and first principles, nor of its rules, but solely with respect to its object. Wherefore their opinion is groundless, who speak of, I know not what, law of nations distinct from the law of nature. The positive or second ary law of nations devised by certain ancients, does not properly belong- to that law of nations we are now to treat of, because it is neither es- tablished by God, nor promulgated by right reason; it is neither common to all mankind nor unchangeable. [I’'rom Vattel on the Law of Nations, seventh American ed., 1849.] There certainly exists a natural law of nations since the obligations of the law of nature are no less binding on states, on men united in political society, than on individuals. But, to acquire an exact knowl- edge of that law, itis not sufficient to know what the law of nature prescribes to the individuals of the human race. The application of a rule to various subjects, can no otherwise be made than in a manner agreeable to the nature of each subject. Hence, it follows, that the natural law of nations is a particular science, consisting in a just and rational application of the law of nature to the affairs “and conduet of nations or sovereigns. (Preface, page v.) _ The moderns are generally agreed in restricting the appelation of “The Law of Nations” to that sy yste m of right and justice which ought to prevail between nations or sovereigis states. (Pret ace, page VI.) The necessary and the voluntary law of nations are therefore both established by nature. but each in a different manner; the former as a sacred law which nations and sovereigns are bound to respect and fol- low in all their actions; the latter, as a rule which the general welfare APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 23 and safety oblige them to admit in their transactions with each other, The necessary law immediately proceeds from nature; and that com- mon mother of mankind recommends the observance of the voluntary law of nations, in consideration of the state in which nations stand with respect to each other, and for the advantage of their affairs. (Preface, page XIII.) As men are subject to the law of nature—and as their union in civil society can not have exempted them from the obligation to observe those laws, since by that union they do not cease to be men, the entire nation, whose common will is but the result of the united wills of the citizens, remains subject to the laws of nature, and is bound to respect them in all her proceedings. (Page LVI., sec. 5.) ‘We must, therefore, apply to nations the rules of the law of nature, in order to discover what their obligations are, and what their rights: consequently, the law of nations is originally no other than the law of nature applied to nations.” (Page LVI, sec. 6.) [From G. F. von Martens, Law of Nations, page 2 of Introduction. (German.) Translated by William Cobbet, Ath ed., 1829.] The second sort of obligations are those which exist between nations. Each nation being considered as a moral being, living in a state of nature, the obligations of one nation towards another are no more than those of individuals, moditied and applied to nations; and this is what is called the natural law of nations. It is unavercdl and necessary, because all nations are governed by it, even against their will. This law, according to the distinction between perfect and imperfect, is per- fect and external (the law of nations, strictly speaking), or else imper- fect and internal, by which last is understood the morality of nations. [Sec. 2 of the Positive Law of Nations. ] It is hardly possible that the simple law of nature should be sufficient even between individuals, and still less between nations, when they come to frequent and carry on commerce with each other. Their com- mon interest obliges them to soften the rigor of the law of nature, to render it more determinate, and to depart from that perfect equality of rights, which must ever, according to the law of nature, be considered as s extending itself even to the weakest. These changes take place in virtue of conventions (express or tacit) or of simple custom. The whole of the rights and obligations, thus established between two nations, form the positive law of nations between them. It is called positive, particular, or arbitrary, in opposition to the natural, universal, and necessary law. [From Jan Helenus Ferguson, Dutch, but apparently written in English, “‘ Manual of International Law” (1884), Vol. 1, Part 1, Ch. 11, sec. 21, page 66.] International law, being based on international morality, depends upon the state of progress made in civilization. Hence arises the diffi- culty of giving an all-comprehending definition to international law. What ought to be permanently understood among civilized nations as the main principles and the basis of their mutual intercourse, we have noted already to be the moral law of nature. But we have also seen that the spirit of law is the practical medium through which this general law influences humanity at all the stages of progress on the road to civilization. 24 ARGUMENT O% THE UNITED STATES. Investigating thus this spirit of law, we find the definition of inter- national law to consist in certain rules of conduct which reason, prompted by conscience, deduces as consonant to justice, with such limitations and modifications as may be established by general consent, to meet the exigen- cies of the present state of society as existing among nations and which modern civilized states regard as binding them in their relations with one another, with a force comparable in nature and degree to that binding the conscientious person to obey the laws of his country. [From “Le Droit Public International Maritime,” par Carlos Testa (Portuguese), trauslated by H. Eoutiron, 1886, part I, chap. 1, pages 46 et seq. ] Foree may constitute, in physical matters, the superiority of one in- dividual over another; but reason and conscience establish, in moral matters, other means which are controlled by the notion of duty and right. It is the whole body of these precepts, which are just, neces- sary, and immutable, for every reasoning being, and graven by ‘God i in the human conscience, that constitutes the natural or primitive law. The object of a law regulating the conduct of men is to impose moral obligations or to authorize certain acts from which advantages may result. In the former case the law establishes the duty; in the latter it con- siders the right. The natural or primitive law, when it designates the duties that it imposes, at once establishes the cor relative duties which are its outgrowth, and which constitute the principles of natural or primitive law. The science of natural law is therefore based upon the principles of that intuitive law which, while giving the ability to practice that which is morally just, establishes the principles to be observed in the relations between one individual and another for the different hypotheses of social life. Duty isa matter of precept, while right is optional; yet right and duty are essentially correlative; and in the reciprocal relations between one individual and another , the it which constitutes a duty for one, establishes a right for another. The same is the case in the mutual relations of collective bodies. It is an axiom which results from the study of the moral nature of man that alone and isolated he cannot attain his welfare, and that sociability is a condition which is by nature necessary to enable him to attain his highest advantage. This natural cause has produced the family, a social element which determines the formation of nations. Now, natural law, which is essentially connected with human nature, and which preseribes certain principles that are to control the recip- rocal relations between one individual and another, is likewise and for che same reason applicable to the relations existing among collective bodies of individuals, which constitute so many moral entities. It is, therefore, the common law of association—that is to say, of nationali- ties. This application of the precepts of natural law, which obliges nations to practice the same duties that it prescribes for individuals, consti- tutes the law of nations, which, when considered according to its origin (which is based upon natural law), is also called the primitive or neces- sary law of nations. Respect for the law of nations is consequently as obligatory among nations as is respect for natural law among individuals. From the fact that the various civil societies which form nations or states, are independent, it results that the internal laws which consti- tute the public law of some can not be extended to the others—that is to APPENDIX TO PART FIRST. 25 say, the internal public law of each nation or state can not be regarded as an external and absolute law, to which others must submit. Hence it results that, in order to fix the limits at which the law of nations stops, if is absolutely necessary to have recourse to the various elements that can give it birth. These elements are: 1. The general principles of natural law, constituting the primitive law which is the outgrowth of the presumable consent of nations; 2. The law of custom, constituting the secondary law that emanates from tacit consent; 3. Conventional law, likewise constituting the secondary law which arises from expressed consent. The origins of international law are therefore three in number: 1. The reason and the consience of what is just and unjust, inde- pendent of any prescription ; 2. Custom; 3. Public treaties. The principles, practices, and usages of the law of nations, in accord. ance with these limits, regulate the conduct of nations, and it is for this reason that in their generality they constitute international law. Conventional law may abrogate the law of custom, but it loses its character as a law if it establishes provisions at variance with. natural law. Although in the philosophical order natural law occupies the first place, yet in the practical order of external relations, when questions are to be decided or negotiations conducted, its rank is no longer the same; in these cases the obligations contracted in the name of conven- tional law, in virtue of existing treaties, are considered in the first place. If such treaties are lacking, the law of custom establishes the rule; and when there are neither treaties to invoke nor customs to fol- low, it is usual to proceed in accordance with what reason establishes as just, and with the simple principle of natural law. When external public law derives its origin from the law of conven- tion and custom, it constitutes what publicists designate as positive or secondary international law; when it is derived merely from the prin- ciples of natural law, it is called the primitive law of nations. [From Burlamaqui ‘‘The Principles of Natural and Politic Law.” Translated by Nugent, 1823, Part u, ch. vi, pages 135, 136.] IV. All societies are formed by the concurrence or union of the wills of several persons with a view of acquiring some advantage. Hence it is that societies are considered as bodies, and receive the appellation Of moral persons. * =" * V. This being supposed, the establishment of states introduces a kind of society amongst them, similar to that which is naturally between men; and the same reasons which induce men to maintain union among themselves, ought likewise to engage nations or their sovereigns to keep up a good understanding with one another. It is necessary, therefore, there should be some law among nations to serve as a rule for mutual commerce. Now this law can be nothing else but the law of nature itself, which is then distinguished by the name of the law of nations. Natural law, says Hobbes , very justly (De Cive, cap. 14, sec. 4), is divided into the natural law of man and the natural law of states; and the latter is what we call law of nations. Thus natural law and the law of nations are in reality one and the same thing, and differ only by an external denomination. We must therefore say that the law of nations, properly so called, and considered as a law proceeding from a superior, is nothing else but the law of na- 26 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. ture itself, not applied to men, considered simply as such, but to nations, States, or their chiefs, in the relations they have together, and the several interests they have to manage between each other. VI. There is no room to question the reality and certainty of such a law of nations obligatory of its own nature, and to which nations, or the sovereigns that rule them, ought to submit. For if God by means of right reason imposes certain duties between individuals, it is evident he is likewise willing that nations, which are only human societies, should observe the same duties between themselves. (See ch. v, sec. 8.) * * - * * * * Src. 1X. * * * There is certainly an universal, necessary, and self-obligatory law of nations, which differs in nothing from the law of nature, and is consequently immutable, insomuch that the people or sovereigns can not dispense with it, even by common consent, without transgressing their duty. There is, besides, another law of nations which we may call arbitrary and free, as founded only on an express or tacit convention, the effect of which is not of itself universal, being obligatory only in regard to those who have voluntarily sub wishedl thereto, and only so long as they please, because they are always at liberty to change or repe val it. To this we must likewise add that the whole force of this sort of law of nations ultimately depends on the law of nature, which commands us to be true to our engagements. Whatever really belongs to the law of nations may be reduced to one or other of these two species; and the use of this distinction will easily appear by applying it to particular questions which relate either to war, for example, to ambassadors, or to public treaties, and to the de- ciding of disputes which sometimes arise concerning these matters between sovereigns. Src. X. It is a point of importance to attend to the origin and nature of the law of nations, such as we have now explained them. For, be- sides that it is always advantageous to form just ideas of things, this is still more necessary in matter of practice and morality. It is owing perhaps to our distinguishing the law of nations from natural law, that we have insensibly accustomed ourselves to form quite a different judg- ment between the actions of sovereigns and those of private people. Nothing is more usual than to see men condemned in common for things which we praise, or at least excuse in the persons of princes. And yet it is certain as we have already shown, that the maxims of the law of nations have an equal authority with those of the law of nature, and are equally respectable and sacred, because they have God alike for their author. In short, there is only one sole and the same rule of justice for all mankind. ’ Princes who infringe the law of nations commit as great a crime as private people who violate the law of nature; and if there be any difference in the two cases, it must be charged to the prince’s account, whose unjust actions are always attended with more dreadful consequences than those of private people. Other citations might be added almost indefinitely. The following references may be added: I’. de Martens, Int. rae Paris, 1883, Vol. 1, pages 19, 20; Li, R, P. Tuparelli dz Azeglio, de la Compagnie de Jésus, Traduit de V'Italien, deux ed. tome II, ch. 23 Grotius De Jure, Belli ac Pacis, Proleg; Heff- ter, Int. Law of Europe, page 2; Bluntschli, Le Droit Int. “Codifié, pages 1, 2; Pasquale Fiore, book ie Chivas Ahrens, Course of Natural Law and The Philosophy ot Law, Vol. 11, book 11, ch.1; M. G. Masse, Jommercial Law in its Relations to the Law of Nations, ete., Paris, 1874, book 1, Lib. 11, ch. 1, page 33; Louis Renault, Introduction a Etude du Droit Intern ational, Paris, "1879, pages 13, 14, JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 27 SECOND. THE ACQUISITION BY RUSSIA OF JURISDICTIONAL OR OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA AND THE TRANSFER THEREOF TO THE UNITED STATES. The first four questions submitted to the High Tribunal by the Treaty are these: 1. What exclusive jurisdiction in the sea now known as the Behring’s 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 the Behring Sea included LO in the phrase ‘Pacific Ocean, as used in the treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia; and what rights, if any, in the Behring 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? The learned Arbitrators may have themselves had oceasion to ob- serve, and, if not, it will at an early stage in the discussion of this con- troversy become manifest to them, that in the consideration by writers upon international law and by learned judges administering that law, of the authority which nations may exercise upon the high seas, two subjects, essentially distinct, have been habitually confounded, and have not, even at this day, been clearly separated and defined. One is the exercise of the sovereign right of making laws operative upon the high seas and binding as well upon foreigners as citizens, which right must necessarily be limited by some definite boundary line. The other is the protection afforded by a nation to its property and other rights by reasonable and necessary acts of power against the citizens of other nations whenever it may be necessary on the high seas with- out regard to any boundary line. Much of this confusion has arisen and been fostered by the lack of precision in the meaning of words. The term “jurisdiction” has from the first been indifferently employed to denote both things. It has thus become a word of ambiguous import, 245) ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, These two subjects may appear to have been to some extent con- founded, or blended, in the minds of the negotiators of the treaty, for the four questions now about to be considered appear, at first view, to embrace both. The Tribunal is called upon to determine, on the one hand, what exclusive jurisdiction in Bering Sea Russia has asserted and exercised, which may not unreasonably be viewed as referring to the exercise of the sovereign power of legislation over that sea, tantamount to an extension of territorial sovereignty. It is also called upon to determine what exclusive right in the “seal fisheries” in Bering Sea Russia asserted and exercised prior to the cession to the United States—a totally different question although a decision of it, affirming the exclusive right, might carry with it, as a consequence, the right to protect such fisheries by a reasonable exercise of national power anywhere upon the seas where such exer- cise might be necessary. And yet it is not probable that the negotiators, even if the two ques- tions were to them distinctly in view, really intended to assign a dis- tinct and separate importance to the first. The real controversy was upon the second, and the jirst was intended to be included, only so far as it might have a bearing upon the second. This is quite manifest from the circumstance that in neither of the four questions is the first of the two rights or claims stated alone and apart from the other; and still more from the language of the second question, which clearly im- plies that the claim of a right to exercise anthority on the sea in defense of a property interest is the one principally intended to be submitted. The language is as follows: “* How far were these claims of jurisdiction as to the seal fisheries recognized and conceded by Great Britain.” This language clearly shows that the Russian claims of exclusive jurisdic- tion designed to be submitted to the Tribunal were such only as as- serted a right to protect the sealing interest of Russia by action upon Bering Sea. And there is nothing in the diplomatic correspondence which led up to the treaty disclosing any assertion on the part of the United States to the effect that Russia had ever gained any right of exclusive legislation over that sea. On the contrary, such assertion had been emphatically disclaimed. It is by no means intended in what has been said that the question what authority on Bering Sea, or, to use the ambiguous word, what “jurisdiction” in Bering Sea, Russia had asserted and exercised in relation to her sealing interests, is unimportant, That question, although JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 29 in no sense a vital one, has a material bearing, and was designed to be embraced by the arbitration. The question whether property rights and interests exist, is one thing; the question what the nation to which they belong may, short of an exercise of the sovereign power of exclu- sive legislation, do by way of protecting them, is another; and both are by the treaty submitted to the Tribunal. Should it appear that Russia had for nearly a century actually asserted and exercised an authority in Bering Sea for the purpose of protecting her sealing interests, and that Great Britain had never resisted or disputed it, it would be quite too late for her now to draw the reasonableness of it into question. A studied effort is made in the Case of Great Britain to make it appear that the United States have shifted their ground from time to time in relation to the subject of this controversy, by first asserting that Bering Sea was mare clausum; then by setting up an exclusive jurisdiction over an area with a radius of 100 miles around the Pribilof Islands; and, lastly, by abandoning both those positions, and asserting a property interest in the herds of seals. This appears from the deliberate statement which closes the Seventh Chapter of the Case of Great Britain, as follows: The facts stated in this chapter show: That the original ground upon which the vessels seized in 1886 and 1887 were condemned, was that Bering Sea was a mare clausum, an inland sea, and as such had been conveyed, in part, by Russia to the United States. That this ground was subsequently entirely abandoned, but a claim was then made to exclusive jurisdiction over 100 miles from the coast- line of the United States’ territory. That subsequently a further claim has been set up to the effect that the United States have a property in and a right of protection over fur- seals in nonterritorial waters. It will be necessary, in order to expose the error of this statement, to briefly review the several stages of the controversy, and draw atten- tion to the grounds upon which the Government of the United States jias taken its positions. , It was in September, 1886, that the attention of that Government was first called by Sir L.S.Sackville-West, Her Majesty’s minister at Wash- ington, to a reported seizure in Bering Sea of three British sealing vessels by a United States cruiser. Information only respecting the affair was at first asked for, and considerable delay occurred in procuring it; but, prior to September, 1887, copies of the records from the United States District Courtof Alaska of the seizure and condcmuation of these vessels had been furnished to the British Government, It appeared 30 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. from these that the seizures were made in Bering Sea at a greater distance than three miles from the land; and thereupon Lord Salisbury, apparently assuming that the statutes of the United States which au- thorized the seizures, were based upon some supposed jurisdiction over Bering Sea acquired from Russia, addressed a note to Sir L. 8. Sack- ville-West, in which he called attention to the Russian ukase of 1821, which asserted a peculiar right in that sea, the objections of the United States and Great Britain to that assertion, and the treaties bet ween those two nations, respectively, and Russia of 1524 and 1825, and insisted that these documents furnished evidence conclusively show- ing that the seizures were unlawful.! The United States Government did not then reply to the point thus raised; but its first attitude in relation to the matter was to suggest, by notes addressed to the different maritime nations, that a peculiar property interest was involved, which might justify the United States Government in exercising an exceptional marine jurisdiction; but that inasmuch as the race of fur-seals was of great Importance to commerce and to mankind, it seemed the part of wisdom for the nations to con- sider whether some concurrent measures might not be agreed to which would, at the same time, preserve the seals and dispose of the cause of possible controversy.? The jirst attitude, therefore, taken by the United States was the suggestion of a property interest, and of an exceptional maritime right to protect it by preventing the destruction of the seals; but that all nations ought to unite in measures which would preserve © them, and thus avoid occasion for controversy concerning the right. On the 22d of January, 1890, Mr. Blaine, who had succeeded Mr. Bayard as Secretary of State, had occasion to make answer, in a note to Sir Julian Pauncefote, to further complaints on the part of the 3ritish Government concerning the course of the United States cruisers in intercepting Canadian vessels while engaged in taking fur- seals in the waters of Bering Sea. In the outset of his communica- tion Mr. Blaine begins by pointing out that it is unnecessary to discuss any question of exclusive jurisdiction in the United States over the waters of that sea, because there were other grounds upon which the course of the United States was, in his opinion, fully justified. He thus expresses himself: In the opinion of the President, the Canadian vessels arrested and detained in the Behring Sea were engaged in a pursuit that was in itself 1Case of the United States. Appendix, Vol. 1, p. 162. 2Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. 1, p. 168, JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 31 contra bonos mores, a pursuit which of necessity involves a serious and permanent injury to the rights of the Government and people of the United States. ‘To establish this ground it is not necessary to argue the question of the extent and nature of the sovereignty of this Gov- ernment over the waters of the Behring Sea; it is not necessary to explain, certainly not to define, the powers and ‘privileges ceded by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia in the treaty by which the Alaskan territory was transferred to the United States. The weighty considerations growing out of the acquisition of that territory, with all the rights on land and sea inseparably connected therewith, may be safely lett out of view, while the grounds are set forth upon whic h this Government rests its justification for the action complained of by Her Majesty’s Government. Mr. Blaine then proceeds to point out that long before the acquisi- tion of Alaska by the United States the fur-seal industry had been established by Russia upon the Pribilof Islands, and that while she had control over them, her possession and enjoyment thereof were in no way disturbed by other nations; that the United States, since the cession of 1867, had continued to carry on the industry, cherishing the herd of fur-seals on those islands and enjoying the advantage thereof; that in the year 1886, vessels, mostly Canadian, were fitted out for the purpose of taking seals in the open sea, and that the number of vessels engaged in the work had continually increased; that they engaged in an indiscriminate slaughter of the seals, very injurious to the industry prosecuted by the United States, and threatening the ex- termination, substantially, of the species. He insisted that the ground upon which Her Majesty’s Government was disposed to defend these Canadian vessels, viz., that their acts of destruction were committed ata distance of more than three miles from the shore line, was wholly insuf- ficient; that to exterminate an animal useful to mankind was in itself in a high degree immoral, besides being injurious to the interests of the United States; that the “law of the sea is not lawlessness,” and that the liberty which it confers could not be “ perverted to justify acts which are immoral in themselves, and which inevitably tend to results against the interests and against the welfare of mankind.” It is, therefore, entirely clear that Mr. Blaine improved the first occasion upon which he was called upon to refer to the subject, to place the claims of the United States distinctly on the ground of a property interest, which could not be interfered with by other nations upon the high seas by practices which in themselves were esseutially immoral and contrary to the law of nature.! 'Mr. Blaine to Sir Julian Pauncefote, Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol, I, p. 200. | 32 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. This correspondence was followed by further diplomatic communieca- tions looking to the establishment of regulations designed to restrict pelagic sealing; and on the 22d of May, 1890, the Marquis of Salis- bury addressed a note to Sir Julian Pauncefote, in the nature of an answer to the note last above mentioned from Mr. Blaine, and it ap- pears from this, very clearly, that he did not misunderstand the posi- tions taken by Mr. Blaine. He thus expresses himself : Mr. Blaine’s note defends the acts complained of by Her Majesty’s Government on the following ground: 1. That “ the Canadian vessels arrested and detained in the Behring Sea were engaged in a pursuit that is in itself contra bonos mores—a pursuit which of necessity involves a serious and permanent injury to the rights of the Government and people of the United States”. 2. That the fisheries had been in the undisturbed possession and under the exclusive control of Russia from their discovery until the cession of Alaska to the United States in 1867, and that from this date onwards until 1886 they had also remained in the undisturbed posses- sion of the United States Government. 3. That it is a fact now held beyond denial or doubt that the taking of seals in the open sea rapidly leads to the extinction of the species, and that therefore nations not possessing the territory upon which seals can increase their numbers by natural growth should refrain from the slaughter of them in the open sea. Lord Salisbury, in this note, insists that whatever may be the value of the industry to the United States, they would not be authorized in preventing by force the practice of pelagic sealing; but he does not choose to enter into any discussion of the question whether the indis- criminate slaughter of seals manifestly tending to the extermination of the species could be justified. His lordship, however, in answer to the alleged exclusive monopoly of Russia in the fur-seal industry, referred to the Russian ukase of 1821, as if Mr. Blaine had insisted upon claims similar to those advanced in that document, and quoted some lan- guage from a communication of Mr. John Quincy Adams, when Secre- ary of State, to theUnited States minister in Russia, contesting the pretension set up in the ukase.! Meanwhile further diplomatic communications were: taking place in relation to the establishment of restrictions designed to limit the prac- tice of pelagic sealing and prevent, in some measure at least, its de- structive operation; and it would seem that these efforts had been nearly successful, and would have been entirely consummated, but for objections interposed on the part of Canada.’ 1Case of the United States, Appexdix, Vol. 1, p. 207. $ Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. 1, pp. 212-224, JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 33 On the 30th of J une, 1890, Mr. Blaine addressed a note to Sir Julian Pauncefote in which he referred to Lord Salisbury’s note, above men- tioned, of May 22, and especially to the passage quoted in it from the communication of Mr. John Quincy Adams to the American minister in Russia, in which the pretensions advanced by Russia in the ukase of 1821 were resisted. He endeavored, in an argument of some length, to show that the claim set up by Russia in 1821 to a peculiar jurisdie- tion had not been surrendered by the treaties of 1824 and 1825 with the United States and Great Britain, respectively, so far as related to Bering Sea, and had not been otherwise abandoned. He insisted that the ukase of 1821, while not designed to declare the Bering Sea to be mare clausum, assumed to exclude, for certain purposes at least, other nations from a space on the high seas to the distance of 100 miles from the shore, and that this pretension on the part of Russia had never been surrendered or abandoned, and had been, in substance, acquiesced in by other nations, and in particular by Great Britain.! The views thus expressed by Mr. Blaine, which were really not essen- tial to the main controversy, and were drawn from him by the reference which Lord Salisbury had made to the Russian ukase of 1821, and the subsequent protests, negotiations, and treaties between Russia and the United States and Great Britain, respectively, were responded to in a note from Lord Salisbury to Sir Julian Pauncefote of August 2, 1890.? In this note his lordship considered the subject at much length, and argued that, on general principles of international law, no nation can rightfully claim jurisdiction at sea beyond a marine league from the coast. This general principle, so far as it is one, had never been denied by Mr. Blaine, his position being that there might be, and in some in- stances were, cases which called for exceptions from the operation of the general rule, so far, at least, as to give a nation a right to exclude, for certain purposes, foreign vessels from a belt of the sea much wider than three miles. On the 17th of December, 1890, Mr. Blaine, in a note to Sir Julian Pauncefote,* referred to the note of Lord Salisbury, last mentioned, and reasserted his position. The controversy respecting the claims of Russia now became, substantially, whether, in the treaties of 1824 and 1825 between the United States and Great Britain, respectively, 1Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. J, p. 224, 2Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. I, p. 242, 5Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. 1, p. 263. 14749 3 34 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. the term “Pacific Ocean,” as used in the treaties, was intended to include the body of water now known as Bering Sea. If it were true, as Lord Salisbury contended, that Bering Sea was thus included, then it would follow that the pretensions made by Russia in the ukase of 1821, so far as they were surrendered by the treaties above referred to, were surrendered as well in respect to Bering Sea as in respect to the Pacific Ocean south of that sea. If, on the other hand, as Mr, Blaine contended, Bering Sea was not intended to be embraced by the term “ Pacifie Ocean,” it would follow that the assertions of jurisdiction in Bering Sea made by the ukase of 1821 had received a very large meas- ure of acquiescence both from Great Britain and the United States. But, in the opinion of the undersigned, the point, though not wholly irrelevant, is, comparatively speaking, unimportant. It was never put forward by the United States as the sole ground, or as the principal ground, upon which that Government rested its claims. Notwithstand- ing the large space devoted to it in the diplomatic discussions, it came in incidentally only. It is not at all improbable that Lord Salisbury preferred to draw the discussion as much as possible away from the question of property interests, and-away from the charge that pelagic sealing was a practice which threatened a useful race of animals with extermination, and was wholly destitute of support upon any grounds of reason. It may be true also that Mr. Blaine in some measure mag- nified the effect which might flow from the pretensions made by Russia in the ukase of 1821, so far as they were acquiesced in by Great Britain and the United States. But what is absolutely certain is that the original attitude taken by the United States, as already mentioned, followed up and reasserted in more than one diplomatic communication, was never, at any time, in the slightest degree abandoned or changed, and this is conclusively evidenced by the last communication of Mr, Blaine, already referred to. Near the close of that note! he says: In the judgment of the President, nothing of importance would be settled by proving that Great Britain conceded no jurisdiction to Russia over the seal fisheries of the Bering Sea. It might as well be proved that Russia conceded no jurisdiction to England over the river Thames. By doing nothing in each case, ever ything is conceded. In neither case is anything asked of the other. “Concession, »as used here, means simply acquiescence in the rightfulness of the’ title, and that is the only form of concession which Russia asked of Great Britain or which Great Britain gave to Russia. 1Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. 1, p. 285. JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 35 The second offer of Lord Salisbury to arbitrate, amounts simply to a submission of the question whether any country has a right to extend its jurisdiction more than one marine league from the shore. No one disputes that, as a rule; but the question is, whether there may not be exceptions whose enforcement does not interfere with those highways of commerce which the necessities and usage of the world have marked Out = The repeated assertions that the Government of the United States demands that the Bering Sea be pronounced mare clausum, are with- out foundation. The Government has never claimed it and never de- sired it. Itexpressly disavows it. At the same time the United States does not lack abundant authority, according to the ablest exponents of international law, for holding a small section of the Bering Sea for the protection of the fur-seals. Controlling a comparatively restricted area of water for that one specific purpose is by no means the equiva- lent of declaring the sea, or any part thereof, mare clausum. Nor is it by any means soserious an obstruction as Great Britian assumed to make in the South Atlantic, nor so groundless an interference with the com- mon law of the sea as is maintained by British authority to-day in the Indian Ocean. The President does not, however, desire the long post- ponement which an examination of legal authorities from Ulpian to Phillimoie and Kent would involve. He finds his own views well ex- pressed by Mr. Phelps, our late minister to England, when, after failing to secure a just arrangement with Great Britain touching the seal fisheries, he wrote the following in his closing communication to his own Government, September 12, 1888: ‘¢ Much learning has been expended upon the discussion of the ab- stract question of the right of mare clausum. Ido not conceive it to be applicable to the present case. ‘Here is a valuable fishery and a large and, if properly managed, permanent industry, the property of the nation on whose shores it is carried on. Itis proposed by the colony of a toreign nation, in defi- ance of the joint remonstrance of all the countries interested, to de- stroy this business by the indiscriminate slaughter and extermination of the animals in question, in the open neighboring sea, during the period of gestation, when the common dictates of humanity ought to protect them, were there no interest at all involved. And it is sug- gested that we are prevented from defending ourselves against such depredations because the sea at a certain distance from the coast is free. “The same line of argument would take under its protection piracy and the slave trade when prosecuted in the open sea, or would justify one nation in destroying the commerce of another by placing dangerous obstructions and derelicts in the open sea near its coasts. There are many things that can not be allowed to be done on the open sea with impunity, and against which every seais mare clausum; and the right of self-defense as to person and property prevails there as fully as else- where. Ifthe fish upon Canadian coasts could be destroyed by scat- tering poison in the open sea adjacent, with some small profit to those engaged init, would Canada, upon the just principles of international law, be held defenseless in such a case? Yet that process would beno more destructive, inhuman, and wanton than this. “If precedents are wanting for a defense so necessary and so proper, it is because precedents for such a course of conduct are likewise un- known. The best international law has arisen from precedents that have been established when the just occasion for them arose, undeterred by the discussion of abstract and inadequate rules.” 36 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The design of the foregoing review of the principal points made in the diplomatic discussions which preceded the Treaty under which this Tribunal was constituted has been to show that the main grounds upon which, from first to last, the claims of the United States were based were the property and industrial interests of that nation; and that the purpose of Mr. Blaine, in taking up the discussion tendered by Lord Salisbury in relation to the ukase of 1821 and the subsequent treaties of 1824 and 1825, was simply to point out that the assertions by Russia of exceptional authority over certain portions of the high seas were, so far as respects Bering Sea, not only never abandoned by her, but were practically conceded and acquiesced in by Great Britain, and that, consequently, the United States could assert against Great Brit- ain a right to protect their sealing interests, not only upon general principles of international law, but upon the additional and reinfore- ing ground that Russia, in order to defend the same interests, had asserted and exercised an exceptional authority over Bering Sea for nearly half a century with the acquiescence of Great Britain, and that any right thus acquired had passed to the United States by the cession of Alaska. In the view of the undersigned, Mr. Blaine was entirely successful in establishing his contention that the assertion by Russia of an ex- ceptional authority over the seas, including an interdiction of the approach of any foreign vessel within 100 miles of certain designated shores, while abandoned by ler treaty with Great Britain in 1825 as to all the northwest coast south of the 60th parallel of north latitude, was, So far as respects Bering Sea, and the islands thereof, and the coast south of the 60th parallel, never abandoned by her, but was acquiesced in by Great Britain. And if the undersigned believed the point to be oneupon which any of the claims of the United States really depended, they would deem it their duty to again present the argument of Mr. Blaine, together with further suggestions which would reinforce it. But they greatly prefer to place the case of the United States upon its real and original grounds, which, as it seems to them, admit of no dis- pute, and not to rely upon arguments which, however successful in their . avowed purposes, are yet, perhaps, to be deemed somewhat aside from the main question. They prefer to submit to this Tribunal that Russia had for nearly a century before the cession of Alaska established and maintained a valuable industry upon the Pribilof Islands, founded upon a clear and indisputable property interest in the fur-seals which JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 37 make those islands their breeding places, an industry not only prof- itable to herself, but in a high degree useful to mankind; that the United States since the cession have, upon the basis of the same property interest, carefully maintained and cherished that industry, and that no other nations, or other men, have any right to destroy or injure it by prosecuting au inhuman and destructive warfare upon the seal in clear violation of natural law; and that the United States have full and per- fect right, under the law of nations, to prevent this destructive warfare by the reasonable exercise of necessary force wherever upon the seas such exercise is necessary to the protection of their property and indus- try. The undersigned therefore submit the question concerning the assertions of maritime authority by Russia and the acquiescence therein by Great Britain upon the argument of Mr. Blaine, contained in his notes to Sir Julian Pauncefote of June 30, 1890,' and December 17, 1890,? It is, however, important that the real nature of these assertions should not be misunderstood. The words “ exclusive jurisdiction in Bering Sea” are used in the questions formulated in the treaty by way of description of the claims of Russia, and the same, or similar, lan- guage will be found in various places in the diplomatic argument to _ have been employed in a like sense. From this it might be thought that what Russia was supposed to have asserted, and what the United States claimed as a right derived from her, was a sovereign jurisdiction over some part of Bering Sea, making it a part of their territory and subject to their laws. This would be entirely erroneous. Jtussia never put forward any such pretension. Her claims were that certain shores and islands on the Northwest coast and in the Pacific Ocean and Ber- ing Sea were part of her territory, acquired by discovery and occupa- tion, upon which she had colonial establishments and fishing and seal- ing industries. She chose, in accordance with the policy of the time, to confine the right to trade with these colonies, and the fishing and fur- gathering industries connected with those territorial possessions, to her- self. Concerning her right to do this there never was, or could be, any dispute. So far as her pretensions to exercise an exceptional maritime authority were concerned, they were limited to such measures as she deemed necessary for the protection of these admitted rights. She did not claim to make laws for the sea. The particular assertion of authority which was the interesting point in the discussion be- 1Case of the United States, Appendix, Vol. 1, p. 224. 2 Ibid, p. 263. 38 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. tween Mr. Blaine and Lord Salisbury was the interdiction to foreign vessels of an approach to the shores and islands referred to nearer than 100 miles. This, of course, was no assertion of exclusive juris- diction, or of jurisdiction at all, in the strict sense of that term. It was the assertion of a right to protect interests attached to the shore from threats and danger of invasion. It was in no wise dif- ferent in its nature from a multitude of assertions of a right to exercise national authority over certain parts of the sea made by different nations before and since, and by none more frequently or ex- tensively than by Great Britain. It was an assertion of power essen- tially the same as that of which the hovering laws are instances. The extent of the interdiction from the shore—100 miles—might have been extreme, although this is by no means certain. A distance which would be excessive in the case of a frequented coast, the pathway of abundant commerce, might be entirely reasonable in a remote and almost uninhabited quarter of the globe to which there was little occasion for vessels to resort except for the purpose of engaging in prohibited trade. It must be remembered that the interdiction was not made for the pur- pose of preventing, or restricting. pelagic sealing. That pursuit had not even been thought of at that time. Had that danger then threat- ened the sealing interests of Russia a much more extensive restriction might justly have been imposed. As already observed it is not intended by the undersigned to inti- mate that the question what authority over Bering Sea Russia claimed the right to exercise and how far the claim was acquiesced in by Great Britain, has no importance in the present controversy; but to point out the nature of that claim, and to indicate its appropriate place in the present discussion. It has a very distinct significance as showing that assertions on the part of Russia of a right to defend and protect her colonial trade and local industries by the reasonable exercise of force in Bering Sea were assented to by Great Britain during the whole period of the Russian occupation of Alaska, and, by consequence, that the present complaints of the latter against a similar exercise of power by the United States are wholly inconsistent with her former attitude and admissions. Again referring to the broad distinction between that power of sov- ereign jurisdiction exercised by a nation over nonterritorial waters, which consists in the enactment of municipal laws designed to be opera- tive upon such waters against the citizens of other nations, and the exercise of authority and power over such waters limited to the neces- JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OVER BERING SEA. 39 sary defense of its property and local interests, the undersigned insist that the former has no material place in this discussion. Russia never insisted upon it so far as respects the regions to which our attention is directed, or the industry of sealing which is here a subject of discus- sion. The United States never have claimed it and do not now claim it. Themselves a maritime nation, they assert, as they always have asserted, the freedom of the seas. But they suppose it to be quite cer- tain that the doctrine of the freedom of the seas has never been deemed by civilized nations as a license for illegal or immoral conduct, or as in any manner inconsistent with the general and necessary right of self- defense above mentioned, which permits a nation to protect its property and local interests against invasion by wrongdoers wherever upon the sea the malefactors may be found. This right and the grounds and reasons upon which the present case calls for an application of it, are directly embraced by the Fiith Question which is submitted to the Tri- bunal, and are, in the opinion of the undersigned, the proper subjects of principal attention, and they will elsewhere, in the appropriate place, devote to them that deliberate and full consideration which importance their demands. Wemay, however, briefly observe here, that according to the best authorities in international law the occupation of a new country which is sufficient to give to the occupying nation a title to it depends very largely upon the nature of the country and the beneficial uses which it may be made to stbserve. In the case of a fruitful region capable of supporting a numerous population, it might not be allowable for a nation first discovering it to maintain a claim over vast areas which it did not actually occupy and attempt to improve; but where a remote and desolate region has been discovered, yielding only a single or few products, and all capable of being beneficially secured by the dis- covering nation, a claim to these products asserted and actually exer- cised, is all the occupation of which the region is susceptible and is sufficient to confer the right of property; and that whatever au- thority it may be reasonably necessary to exercise upon the adjoin- ing seas in order to protect such interests from invasion may properly be asserted. Says Phillimore, who seems to have understood the Ore- gon territory as embracing the whole northwest coast of North America: A similar settlement was founded by the British and Russian Fur Companies in North America. The chief portion of the Oregon Territory is valuable solely for the fur-bearing animals which it produces. Various establishments in 40 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. different parts of this territory organized a system for securing the preservation of these animals, and exercised for these purposes a con- trol over the native population. This was rightly contended to be the only exercise of proprietary right of which these particular regions were at that time susceptible, and to mark that a beneficial use was made of the whole territory by the occupants.' The first four questions submitted to the Tribunal by the Treaty should, in the opinion of the undersigned, be answered as follows: First. Russia never at any time prior to the cession of Alaska to the United States claimed any exclusive jurisdiction in the sea now known as Bering Sea, beyond what are commonly termed territorial waters. She did, at all times since the year 1821, assert and enforce an exclusive right in the “seal fisheries” in said sea, and also asserted and enforced the right to protect her industries in said “ fisheries” and her exclusive interests in other industries established and maintained by her upon the islands and shores of said sea, as well as her exclusive enjoyment of her trade with her colonial establishments upon said islands and shores, by establishing prohibitive regulations interdicting all foreign vessels, except in certain specified instances, from approach- ing said islands and shores nearer than 100 miles. Second. The claims of. Russia above mentioned as to the “seal. fisheries” in Bering Sea were at all times, from the first assertion thereof by Russia down to the time of the cession to the United States, recognized and acquiesced in by Great Britain. Third. ‘The body of water now known as Behring Sea was not included in the phrase ‘Pacific Ocean,’ as used in the treaty of 1825, between Great Britain and Russia;” and after that treaty Russia continued to hold and to exercise exclusively a property right in the fur-seals resorting to the Pribilof Islands, and to the fur-sealing and other industries established by her on the shores and islands above mentioned, and to all trade with her colonial establishments on said shores and islands, with the further right of protecting, by the exer- cise of necessary and reasonable force over Bering Sea, the said seals, industries, and colonial trade from any invasion by citizens of other nations tending to the destruction or injury thereof. Fourth. “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,” did “pass unimpaired to the United States under that treaty.” JAMES C. CARTER. 1Int. Law, vol. 1, pp. 259, 260. PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 41 AEE: THE PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD AND THEIR RIGHT TO PROTECT THEIR SEALING INTER- ESTS AND INDUSTRY. I.—THE PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. The subject which, in the order adopted by the treaty, is next to be considered, is that of the assertion by the United States of a property interest in the Alaskan seals. Under this head there are two ques- tions, which, though each may involve, in large measure, the same con- siderations, are yet in certain respects so different as to make it neces- sary or expedient that they should be separately discussed. The jirst is whether the United States have a property interest in the seals themselves, not only while they are upon the breeding islands, but also while they are in the high seas. The second is whether, if they have not a clear property in the seals themselves, they have such a property interest in the industry long established and prosecuted on the Pribi- lof Islands of maintaining and propagating the herd, and appropri- ating the increase to themselves for the purposes of commerce and profit, as entitles them to extend their protection to such herd against capture while it is on the high seas, and to require and receive from other nations an acquiescence in reasonable regulations designed to afford such protection. The material difference between these questions will be perceived from a glance at the consequences which would flow from a determina- tion of each of them respectively in favor of the claims of the United States. Ifit were determined that the United States had the property interest which they assert only in the industry established on the shore, it might, with some show of reason, be insisted that, if the industry were not actually established, they would have no right to forbid inter- ference with the seals in the open sea; but were it determined that the United States had the property interest which they assert in the seals themselves, it would follow that they would have the right at any time to take measures to establish such an industry, and to forbid any inter- 42 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. ference with the seals which would tend to make its establishment impossible or difficult. The proposition which the undersigned will first lay down and en- deavor to maintain is that the United States have, by reason of the nature and habits of the seals and their ownership of the breeding grounds to which the herds resort, and irrespective of the established industry above mentioned, a property interest in those herds as well while they are in the high seas as upon the land. It is first to be observed that although the established doctrines of municipal law may be properly invoked as affording light and informa- tion upon the subject, the question is not to be determined by those doctrines. Questions respecting property in lands, or movable things which have a fixed situs within the territorial limits of a nation are, indeed, to be determined exclusively by the municipal law of that na- tion; but the municipal law can not determine whether movable things like animals are, while they are in the high seas, the property of one nation as against all others. If, indeed, it is determined that such an- imals have a situs upon the land, notwithstanding their visits to, and migration in the sea, if may then be left to the power which has dominion over such land to determine whether such animals are property; but the question whether they have this situs must be resolved by interna- tional law. The position taken on the part of Great Britain is, not that the seals belong to her, but that they do not belong to any nation or to any men; that they are res communes, OR res nullius; in other words, that they are not the subject of property, and are consequently open to pursuit and capture on the high seas by the citizens of any nation. This position is based upon the assertion that they belong to the class of wild ani- mals, animals fere nature, and that these are not the subject of owner- ship. On the other hand, it is insisted on the part of the United States that the terms wild and tame, fere and domite, natura, are not suffi- ciently precise for a legal classification of animals in respect to the question of property; that it is open to doubt,in many cases, whether an animal should be properly designated as wild or tame, and that the as- signment of an animal to the one class rather than to the other is by no means decisive of the question whether it is to be regarded as prop- erty. In the view of the United States, while the words wild and tame describe sufficiently for the purposes of common speech the nature and habits of animals, and indicate generally whether they are or PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 43 are not the subjects of property, yet there are many animals which lie near to the boundary imperfectly drawn by these terms, and in respect to which the question of property can be determined only by a closer inquiry into their nature and habits, and one more particularly guided by the considerations upon which the institution of property stands. If the question were asked why a tame or domestic animal should be property and a wild one not, these terms would be found to supply no reasons. The answer would be because tame ani- mals exhibit certain qualities, and wild ones other and different qual- ities; thus showing that the question of property depends upon the characteristics of the animal. This view seems to be correct upon its mere statement, and it will be found to be the one adopted and acted upon by the writers of recognized authority upon the subject of property. It would be sufficient for the present purpose to refer to the language of Chancellor Kent upon this point. No dissent from it will anywhere be found. He says: Animals fere natura, so long as they are reclaimed by the art and power of man, are also the subject of a qualified property; but when they are abandoned, or escape, and return to their natural liberty and ferocity, without the animus revertendi, the property in them ceases. While this qualified property continues, it isas much under the protec- tion of law as any other property, and every invasion of it is redressed in the same manner. The difficulty of ascertaining with precision the application of the law arises from the want of some certain determinate standard or rule by which to determine when an animal is fera, vel domite nature. If an animal belongs to the class of tame animals, as, for instance, to the class of horses, sheep, or cattle, he is then a subject clearly of absolute property; but if he belongs to the class of animals, which are wild by nature, and owe all their temporary docility to the discipline of man, such as deer, fish, and several kinds of fowl, then the anitnal is a subject of qualified property, and which continues so long only as the tameness and dominion remain. It is a theory of some naturalists that all animals were originally wild, and that such as are domestic owe all their docility and all their degeneracy to the hand of man. This seems to have been the opinion of Count Buffon, and he says that the dog, the sheep, and the camel have degenerated from the strength, spirit, and beauty of their natural state, and that one principal cause of their degeneracy was the pernicious influence of human power. Grotius, on the other hand, says that savage animals owe all their un- tamed ferocity not to their own natures, but to the violence of man; but the common law has wisely avoided all perplexing questions and refinements of this kind, and has adopted the tesé laid down by Puffen- dorf,! by referring the question whether the animal be wild or tame to our knowledge of his habits derived from fact and experience.’ To this citation we may add the authority, which will not be disputed in this controversy, of two decisions of the court of common pleas in 1 Law of Nature and Nations, Lib. 4, Chap. 6, sec. 5. 2 Kent’s Com., vol. 2, p. 348. 44 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Great Britain. In the case of Davies vs. Powell (Willes, 46) the ques. tion was whether deer kept in an inclosure were distrainable for rent. The court took notice of the nature and habits of these animals as affected by the care and industry of man and the uses which they were made to subserve; and it observed that, while they were formerly kept principally for pleasure and not for profit, the practice had arisen of caring for them and rearing and selling them, and, in view of these facts, declared that they had become “as much a sort of husbandry as horses, cows, sheep, or any other cattle.” And, more recently, the question was made in the case of Morgan v. The Earl of Abergavenny (8 C. B., 768), whether deer thus kept passed upon the death of the owner to the heir or to the executor; that is to say, whether they were personal property or chattels real. Evidence was received upon the trial showing the nature and habits of the ani- mals; that they were cared for and fed and selections made from them for slaughter; and upon this evidence it was left to the jury to say whether they were personal property. The jury found that they were; and the court upon a review of the case approved the verdict, holding that the question was justly made to depend upon the facts which had been given in evidence. Inasmuch as the present controversy upon this point is one between nations, it can not be determined by a reference to the municipal law of either, or by the municipal law of any nation. The rule of decision must be found in international law; and, as has already been shown, if there is no actual practice or usage of nations directly in point, as there is not, recourse must be had to the principles upon which international law is founded—that is to say, to the law of nature. But the question whether a particular thing is the subject of property, as between nations: is substantially the same as the question whether the same thing is property as between individuals in a particular nation. Now, it so happens that this latter question has been determined, whenever it has arisen, not by any exercise of legislative power, but by an adoption of the rule of the law of nature. And the municipal jurisprudence of all nations, proceeding upon the law of nature, is everywhere in sub- stantial accord upon the question what things are the subject of prop- erty. That jurisprudence, therefore, so far as it is consentaneous, may be invoked in this controversy, as directly evidencing the law of na- ture, and, therefore, of nations. Proceeding to the examination of the doctrines of this municipal PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 45 jurisprudence, it appears, immediately, that there is no rule or prin- ciple to the effect that no wild animals are the subject of property. On the contrary we find that from an early period in the Roman law a distinct consideration has been given to the question, what animals, commonly designated as wild, are the subjects of property, and to what extent. And the doctrine established by that law, and adopted, it is believed, wherever that law has been received as the basis of municipal jurisprudence was also carried into the jurisprudence of England at the first stage of its development, and has ever since been received and acted upon by all English-speaking nations. It is well expressed in the Commentaries of Blackstone:! ; II. Other animals that are not of a tame and domestic nature are either not the objects of property at all or else fall under our other division, namely, that of qualified, limited, or special property, which is such as is not in its nature permanent, but may sometimes subsist and at other times not subsist. In discussing which subject, [ shall, in the first place, show how this species of property may subsist in such ani- mals as are fere nature, or of a wild nature, and then how it may sub- sist in any other things when under particular circumstances. First, then, a man may be invested with a qualified, but not an absolute property in all creatures that are fere natura, either per indus- triam, propter impotentiam, or propter privilegium. 1. A qualified property may subsist in animals ferew nature, per indus triam hominis, by a man’s reclaiming and making them tame by art, indus- try, and education, or by so confining them within his own immediate power that they can not escape anduse their natural liberty. And un- der this head some writers have ranked all the former species of ani- mals we have mentioned, apprehending none to be originally and nat- urally tame, but only made so by art and custom, as horses, swine, and other cattle, which, if originally left to themselves, would have chosen to rove up and down, seeking their food at large, and are only made do- mestic by use and familiarity, and are, therefore, say they, called man- sueta, quast manui assueta. But however well this notion may be. founded, abstractly considered, our law apprehends the most obvious distinction to be between such animals as we generally see tame, and are therefore seldom, if ever, found wandering at large, which it cails domite nature, and such creatures as are usually found at liberty, which are therefore supposed to be more emphatically fer@ natura, though it may happen that the latter shall be sometimes tamed and confined by the art and industry of man—such as are deer in a park, hares or rabbits in an inclosed warren, doves in a dove house, pheasants or partridges in a mew, hawks that are fed and commanded by their owner, and fish in a private pond or in trunks. These are no longer the property of a man than while they continue in his keeping or actual possession; but if at any time they regain their natural liberty his property instantly ceases, unless they have animum revertendi, which is only to be known by their usual custom of returning. A maxim which is borrowed from the civil law, “‘revertendi animum videntur desi- nere habere tunc, cum revertendi consuetudinem deseruerint.” The law, 1 Book.II, p. 391. 46 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. therefore, extends this possession further than the mere manual occupation; for my tame hawk, that is pursuing his quarry in my presence, though he is at liberty to go where he pleases, is never- theless my property, for he hath animum revertendi. So. are my pi- geons that are flying at a distance from their home (especially of the carrier kind), and likewise the deer that is chased out of my park or forest, and is instantly pursued by the keeper or forester; all which remain still in my possession, and I still preserve my qualified property in them. But if they stray without my knowl- edge, and do not return in the usual manner, it is then lawful for any stranger to take them. But ifa deer, or any wild animal reclaimed, hath a collar or other mark put upon him, and goes and returns at his pleasure, or if a wild swan is taken and marked and turned loose in the river, the owner’s property in him still continues, and it is not lawful for anyone else to take him; but otherwise if the deer has been long absent without returning, or the swan leaves the neighborhood. Bees also are fere nature; but, when hived and reclaimed, a man may have a qualified property in them, by the law of nature, as well as by the civil law. And to the same purpose, not to say in the same words with the civil law, speaks Bracton; occupation, that is, hiving or including them, gives the property in bees; for, though a swarm lights upon iny tree, | have no more property in them till I have hived them than I have in the birds which make their nests thereon; and, therefore, if another hives them, he shall be their proprietor; but a swarm, which fly from and out of my hive, are mine so long as I can keep them in sight and have power to pursue them, and in these circumstances no one else is entitled to take them. But it hath been also said that with us the only ownership in bees is ratione soli, and the charter of the forest, which allows every freeman to be entitled to the honey found within his own woods, affords great countenance to this doctrine, that a qualified property may be had in bees, in consideration of the prop- erty of the soil whereon they are found. In all these creatures, reclaimed from the wildness of their nature, the property is not absolute, but defeasible: a property that may be destroyed if they resume their ancient wildness, and are found at large. Tor if the pheasants escape from the mew, or the fishes from the trunk, and are seen wandering at large in their proper element, they become Jere nature again, and are free and open to the first oceupant that has ability to seize them. But while they thus continue my qualified or defeasible property, they are as much under the protection of the law as if they were absolutely and indefeasibly mine; and an action will lie against any man that detains them from me or unlawfully destroys them. It is also as much felony by common law to steal such of them as are fit for food as it is to steal tame animals; but not so if they are only kept for pleasure, curiosity, or whim; as dogs, bears, cats, apes, parrots, and singing birds; because their value is not intrinsic, but depending only on ‘the « caprice of the owner; though it is such an invasion of prop- erty a8 may amount to a civil injury, and be redressed by a civil action. Yet to steal a reclaimed hawk is felony both by common law and stat- ute; which seems to be a relic of the tyranny of our ancient sportsmen. And, among our elder ancestors, the ancient Britons, another species of reclaimed animals, viz., cats, were looked upon as creatures of in- trinsic value; and the killing or stealing one was a grievous crime, and subjected the offender to a fine; especially if it belonged to the King’s household, and was the custos horret regii, for which there was a very peculiar forfeiture. And thus much of qualified property in wild animals, reclaimed per industriam. PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. AT From the general doctrine thus declared no dissent will, it is be- lieved, be anywhere found. It has been reaffirmed in many instances by the courts both of Great Britain and the United States. The special attention of the Tribunal should be given to the utterances upon this question both by judicial tribunals and by jurists of established authority, and a somewhat copious collection of them will be found in Appendix. It will be observed that the essential facts which, according to these doctrines, render animals commonly designated as wild, the subjects of property not only while in the actual custody of their masters but also when temporarily absent therefrom, are thi. the care and industry of man acting upon a natural disposition of the animals to return to a place of wonted resort, secures their voluntary and habitual return to his custody and power, so as to enable him to deal with them in a similar manner, and to obtain from them similar benefits, as in the case of domestic animals. They are thus for all the purposes of property assim- ilated to domestic animals. It is the nature and habits of the animal, which enable man, by the practice of art, care, and industry, to bring about these useful results that constitute the foundation upon which the law makes its award of property, and extends to this product of human industry the protection of ownership. ‘This species of property is well described as property per industriam. The Alaskan fur-seals are a typical instance for the application of this doctrine. They are by the imperious and unchangeable instincts of their nature impelled to return from their wanderings to the same place; they are defenseless against man, and in returning to the same place voluntarily subject themselves to his power, and enable him to treat them in the same way and to obtain from them the same bene- fits as may be had in thecase of domestic animals. They thus become the subjects of ordinary husbandry as much as sheep or any other cattle. All that is needed to secure this return,is the exercise of care and industry on the part of the human owner of the place of resort. He must abstain from killing or repelling them when they seek to return to it, and must invite and cherish such return. He must defend them against all enemies by land or sea. And in making his selections for slaughter, he must disturb them as little as possible and take males only. All these conditions are perfectly supplied by the United States, and their title is thus fully substantiated. What ground of difference in respect to the point in question can 48 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. be suggested between these seals and the other animals, such as deer, bees, wild geese, and wild swans, which appear by the authori- ities referred to to be universally regarded as property so long as they retain the animum revertendi ? Willit be said that this animus is cre- ated by man in the case of those animals, and in the seals is a natural instinct? If this were true it would be unimportant. The essential thing is that the art and industry of man should bring about the useful result; and to this end human art, care and industry are as necessary and as effective in the one case as in the others. If man did not choose to practice this care and industry in respect to the seals, if he exhibited no husbandry, but treated them as wild animals, and attacked and killed them as they sought the land, they would be driven away to other haunts or be speedily exterminated. But it is not true that the disposition to return is created by man. The habitual return of the other animals mentioned is due to their natural instinets just as much as that of the seals is to theirs. Many races of animals have what may be called homes. It is natwral instinct which prompts them to return to the spot where they rear their young or can find their food or a secure place of repose. What man does in any of these instances, and as much in one as in another, is, to act upon this instinct and make it available to secure the return. If the seals will return to the same place and voluntarily put themselves in the power of man with less effort on his part than in the case of the other animals, it shows only that they are by nature less wild and less inclined to fly from the presence of man. In the case of the bees, for instance, it is plain that their nature is no more changed by man than that of the seals. They are as wild when dwelling in an artificial hive as when they are in the woods; nor does man feed them; they gain their food from flowers which, for the most part, belong to persons other than their masters. Willit be said that the wanderings of the seals are very distant? Of what consequence is this so long as the return is certain? Bees wander very long distances. Will it be insisted that it makes any difference on the question of property whether a cow seal goes five, or a hundred miles in the sea to obtain food to enable her to nourish her offspring on the shore? Probably the long duration of migration to the south in the winter will be urged as a striking distinction between the case of the seals and the other instances; but what difference can this make if the animus revertendi remains, as it unquestionably does, and the same beneficial results are secured? PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD, 49 The difficulty of identification may be suggested, but it does not ex- ist. There is no commingling with the Russian herd. Every fur-seal onthe Northwest coast belongs indisputably to the Alaskan herd. But if there were any such supposed difficulty, it would matter nothing. If a man, without authority, kills cattle wandering without guard over the boundless plains of the interior of the United States, he is a plain trespasser. It might be difficult for any particular owner to make out a case of damages against him, but he would be none the less a tres- passer for that. If a man kills a reclaimed swan or goose innocently, and believing it to be wild, he is, indeed, excusable, and if there were different herds of fur-seals, some of them property and others not, it might be difficult to show that one who killed seals at sea had notice that they were property; but there are no herds of fur-seals in the North Pacific which are not in the same condition with those of Alaska. It does not, therefore, appear that the differences observable between the fur-seals and those other animals commonly designated as wild, which are held by the municipal law of all nations to be the subject ot ownership, are material, and the conclusion is fully justified that if the latter are property, the former must also be property. But there is another and broader line of inquiry, by following which all doubt upon this point may be removed. What are the grounds and reasons upon which the institution of property stands? Why is it that society chooses to award, through the instrumentality of the law, aright of property in anything? Why is it that it makes any dis- tinction in this respect between wild and tame animals; and why is it that, as to animals commonly designated as wild, it pronounces some to be the subjects of property and denies that quality to others? It can not be that these important but differing determinations are founded upon arbitrary reasons. Nor does the imputation to some of these ani- mals of what is termed the animus revertendi, or the fact that they have a habit of returning which evidences that intent, of themselves, explain anything. They would both be wholly unimportant unless they were significant of some weighty social and economic considerations arising out of imperious social necessities. If we knew what these reasons were, we might no longer entertain even a doubt upon the question whether the Alaskan seals are the subjects of property. If it should appear upon inquiry that every reason upon which bees, or deer, or pigeons, or wild geese, and swans are held to be property requires the same determination in respect to the Alaskan seals, the differences 14749 —_4 50 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. observable between these various species of animals must be dismissed as wholly unimportant and the conclusion be unhesitatingly received that the fur-seals are the subjects of ownership. The attention of the tribunal is, therefore, invited to a somewhat earefel inquiry into the original causes of the institution of property and the principles upon which it stands; and the counsel for the United States will be greatly disappointed if the result of the investigation should fail to satisfy the Tribunal that there is a fundamental principle underlying that institution which is decisive of the main question now under discussion. That principle they conceive to be this, that when- ever any useful wild animals so far submit themselves to the control of varticular men as to enable them exclusively to cultivate such animals and obtain the annual increase for the supply ofhuman wants, and at the same time to preserve the stock, they have a property in them, or, in other words, whatever may be justly regarded as the product of human art, industry, and self-denial must be assigned to those who make these exertions as their merited reward. The inquiry thus challenged is in no sense one of abstract specula- tion, nor is it a novel one. It proceeds upon the firm basis of the facts of man’s nature, the environment in which he is placed, and the social necessities which determine his action; and the pathway is illumined by the lights thrown upon it by a long line of recognized authorities. The writers upon the law of Nature and Nations, beginning with Gro- tius,! have justly conceived that no system of practical ethics would be complete which did not fully treat of the institution of property, not only in respect to nations, but also in respect to private persons. Rec- ognizing the fact that a nation could not defend its possessions against other nations by an appeal to any municipal law, they have sought to find grounds for the defense of those possessions in the law of nature which must be everywhere acknowledged. It is upon the broad, general principles agreed to by these authorities that we shall endeavor to establish the proposition above stated. | It is easier to feel than it is to precisely define the meaning of the word property; but as the feeling is substantially the same in all minds there is the less need of any attempt at exact definition. It is com- 'Grotius, de Jure Belli ac Pacis, Book 11, chap. 1; Puffendorf, Law of Nature and Nations, Book Iv, chap. v. See also Blackstone’s elegant chapter on ‘ Prop- erty in General,” (Commentaries, Book 2, pp. 1, e¢ seqg.); and Locke on Civil Govern- ment, Chap. v. ‘ PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 51 monly said to be the right to the exclusive possession, use, and disposi- tion of the thing which is the subject of it; but this defines rather the right upon which property rests, than property itself. The somewhat abstract definition of Savigny more precisely states what property really is. ‘‘ Property,” says he, “according to its true nature, is a widening of individual power.”! It is, as far as tangible things are concerned, an extension of the individual to some part of the material world, so that it is affected by his personality.’ But whence comes the right of the individual to thus extend his power over the natural world, and what are its conditions and limita- tions? In thus speaking of rights, moral rights alone are intended, for the law knows of no other, if, indeed, any other exist. There are no natural indefeasible rights which stand for their own reason. Hf rights exist, it is not for themselves alone, but because they subserve the happiness of mankind and the purposes for which the human race was placed upon the earth. Even the right to life, however clear in general, is not natural and indefeasible. It is held subject to the needs of mankind, and in a great number of cases may be justly taken by society. In order to ascertain the source and foundation of the right of property, we must look, as all moralists and jurists look, to the nature of man and the environment in which he is placed. We find that the desire of exclusive possession is one of the original and prin- cipal facts of man’s nature which will and must be gratified, even though force be employed to vindicate the possession. We know, also, that man is a social animal and must live in society, and that there can not be any society without order and peace. Even in savage life it is a necessity that the hunter should have the exclusive ownership of the beast he has slain for food and of the weapon he has made for the chase. Otherwise life itself could not be maintained. His rude society, even, is not possible unless it furnishes him with some guaranty that these few possessions be secured to him. Otherwise he is at war with his species, and society is gone. The existence of property, to at least this extent, is coeval with the existence of man. It stands upon the imperi- 1Jurid. Relations (Lond., 1834, Ratteguin’s Trans.), p. 178. 2? Locke expresses the same idea: ‘The fruit or venison which nourishes the wild Indian * * * must be his, and so his, i. e., a part of him, that another can no longer have any right to it,” ete. (Civil Government, Ch. v, § 25.) “In making the object my own I stamped it with the mark of my own person; whoever attacks it attacks me; the blow struck it strikes me, for I am present in it. Property is but the periphery of my person extended to things.” Ihering, quoted by George B. Newcomb, Pol. Science Quarterly, vol. 1, p. 604. 52 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. ous and indisputable basis of necessity. ‘‘ Necessity begat property.”?! Neither history, nor tradition, informs us of any people who have in- habited the earth among whom the right of property to at least this extent was not recognized and enforced. And an interesting confirma- tion is found in the circumstance that the rude originals of the admin- istration of justice are everywhere found in contrivances designed for punishment of theft. The circumstance that in the early advances of society from savage to industrial conditions we find that in many things, especially land and the products of land, community property is found to obtain in place of individual property, does not impair in any degree the force of the views just expressed. The institution of property is in full operation, whether society itself—the artificial person—asserts ownership, or per- mits its members to exercise the privilege. Wherever the supreme necessities of society, peace and order, are found to be best subserved by ownership in the one form rather than in the other, the form most suitable will be adopted. Community property was found sufficient for the early stages of society, and it is the anticipation, or the dream, of many ingenious minds that the expedient will again, in the further ad- vance of society, be found necessary. But the desire of human nature for exclusive ownership is not lim- ited to the weapons and product of the chase, as in savage society, or to the reward of a proportional share, as in early industrial communi- ties. Man wishes for more, for the sake of the comfort, power, consid- eration and influence which abundant possessions bring. He wishes to better his condition, and this is possible only by increase of posses- sions. And the improvement of society, it has been found, can be effected, or best effected, only through the improvement of its individ- ual members. This desire of individual man to better his condition is imperious, and must be gratified; and inasmuch as the gratification tends to general happiness and improvement, a moral basis is furnished for an extension of the institution of individual property. As the first necessity of the social state, peace and order, require that ownership should be enforced to at least the limited extent which savage con- ditions require, so the second necessity of society, its progress and advancement—that is to say, civilization—demands that individual effort should be encouraged by offering as its reward the exclusive own- ership of everything which it can produce. In these two principal neces- ! Blackstone’s Com., Book 2, p. 8 PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 53 sities of human condition, the peace of society, and its progress and advancement in wealth and numbers, both founded upon the strongest desires of man’s nature, the institution of property has its foundation. There are several features of this institution which in this discussion should be well understood and carried in mind; and, first, the extent of its operation. Manifestly this must be coextensive with the human desires and necessities out of which it springs. Wherever there is an object of desire, not existing in sufficient quantity to fully satisfy the greed of all, conflict for possession will arise and consequent danger to peace. Society finds its best security for order in extending the privi- lege of ownership to everything which can be owned. The owner may be the state or community, as under early and rude social conditions; or private individuals, as civilization advances; but, in either case, nothing is left as a subject for strife. The grounds and reasons which society, after the introduction of individual property, may allow as suffi- cient for awarding ownership to one rather than to another are various; but they all depend upon some consideration of superior merit and desert. That one man has by his labor and skill formed a weapon or a tool is instantly recognized as a sufficient ground to support his title to it. And if he simply takes possession of some things before unap- propriated by any one, or finds property to which no other owner asserts a claim, his right, though less impressive, is still superior to that of any other. We therefore easily reach the conclusion that the necessi- ties which demand the institution of property equally demand its ex- tension over every object of desire as to which conflict for possession may arise. But it is not only the necessity of peace and order which requires that all-embracing extent of the institution of property. It is alike demanded by that high moral purpose already alluded to as constitut- ing part of the foundation of the institution, namely, the improvement of society and of the individual man. This, as has already been seen, can be brought about only by the cultivation of the arts of industry by which nature is made to yield a more abundant provision for human wants. These arts will not be practiced unless the fruits of each man’s labor, whether it be the product of the field, of the workshop, or the increase of animals which are the subject of his care, are assured to him. We find, therefore, that the institution of property is so imbed- ded in the nature of man, that its existence is a necessary consequence of forces in operation wherever man is found, or wheresoever his power 54 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. may extend, and that the fundamental formula by which the institution is expressed is that every object of desire, of which the supply is limited, must be owned. It is with this proposition that Blackstone closes his chapter upon “ Property in General.” ; “Acain, there are other things in which a permanent property may subsist, not only as to the temporary use, but also the solid substance; and which yet would frequently be found without a proprietor had not the wisdom of the law provided a remedy to obviate this inconvenience. Such are forests and other waste grounds, which were omitted to be appropriated in the general distribution ot lands. Such also are wrecks, estrays, and that species of wild animals which the arbitrary constitutions of positive law have distinguished from the rest by the well known appellation of game. With regard to these and some others, as disturbances and quarrels would frequently arise among in- dividuals, contending about the acquisition of this species of property by first occupancy, the law has therefore wisely eut up the root of dis- sension by vesting the things themselves in the sovereign of the State, or else in his representatives appointed and authorized by him, being usually the lords of manors. And thus the legislature of England has universally promoted the grand ends of civil society, the peace and security of individuals, by steadily pursuing that wise and orderly maxim of assigning to everything capable of ownership a legal and deter- minate owner”! 'Sir Henry Maine, after tracing with his wonted acuteness the course of the de- velopment of the conception of property, also finds that it finally resnlts in the proposition that everything must be owned. “It is only when therights of property gained asanction from long practical invio- lability, and when the vast majority of objects of enjoyment have been subjected to private ownership, that mere possession is allowed to invest the first possessor with dominion over commodities in which no prior proprietorship has been asserted. The sentiment in which this doctrine originated is absolutely irreconcilable with that infrequenecy and uncertainty of proprietary rights which distinguish the begin- ning of civilization. The true basis seems to be not an instinctive bias towards the institution of property, but a presumption, arising out of the long continuance of that institution, that everything ought to have an owner. When possession is taken of a ‘res nullius,’ that is, of an object which is not, or has never, been reduced to dominion, the possessor is permitted to become proprietor from a feeling that all valuable things are naturally subjects as an exclusive enjoyment, and that in the given case there is no one to invest with the rights of property except the occupant. The occupant, in short, becomes the owner, because all things are presumed to be somebody’s pro- perty, and because no one can be pointed out as having a better right than he to the proprietorship of this particular thing.” (Ancient Law, Ch. vu1, p. 249.) Lord Chancellor Chelinsford made the proposition that every thing must be owned by some one, the ground of his decision in the House of Lords of the case of Blades v. Higgs. (Law Journal Reports, N.S. 286, 288.) From Commentaries on the Constitutional Law of England. By George Bowyer, D.C. L., 2d ed. London, 1846, p. 427: “INI. The third primary right of the citizen is that of property, which consists in the free use, enjoyment, and disposal of all that is his, without any control or dimi- nution, save by the law of the land. The institution of property—that is to say, the appropriation to particular persons and uses of things which were given by God to all mankind—is of natural law. The reason of this is not difficult to discover, for the increase of mankind must soon have rendered community of goods exceedingly PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 55 Nothing which is not an object of human desire—that is, nothing which has not a recognized utility—can be the subject of property, for there is no possibility of conflict for the possession. Property, there fore, is not predicable of noxious reptiles, insects, or weeds, except under special circumstances, where they may be kept for the purposes of science or amusement. ‘The supply, indeed, may be limited; but the element of utility, which excites the conflicting desires which property is designed to reconcile and restrain, is absent. Nor is property pred- icable of things which, though in the highest degree useful, exist in inexhaustible abundance and within the reach of all. Neither air nor- light nor running water are the subjects of property. The supply is unlimited, and where there is ‘abundance to satisfy all desires there can be no conflict. There is a still further qualification of the extent to which the insti- tution of property is operative. Manifestly, in order that a thing may be owned, it must be susceptible of ownership, that is, of exclusive ap- propriation to the power of some individual. There are things of which this can not be asserted. Useful wild animals are the familiar instance. Although objects of desire and limited in supply, they are not, as a general role, susceptible of exclusive appropriation. They are not subject, otherwise than by capture and confinement, to the con- stant disposition of man as he may choose to dispose of them. We can hold them only by keeping them in captivity, and this we can do only in respect to an insignificant part. What, in the view of the lar, constitutes this susceptibility of exclusive appropriation is an interesting and important question, which will be hereafter discussed in connection with the question what animals are properly to be denominated as wild. The importance of the conclusion reached by the foregoing reasoning should be marked by deliberate restatement. The institution of prop- erty embraces all tangible things subject only to these three excepting conditions: First. They must have that utility which makes them objects of human desire. Second. The supply must be limited. Third. They must be susceptible of exclusive appropriation. inconvenient or impossible consistently with the peace of society; and, indeed, by far the greater number of things can not be made fully subservient to the use of mankind in the most beneficial manner unless they be governed by the laws of ex- clusive appropriation.” 56 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. This conclusion is a deduction of moral right drawn from the facts of man’s nature and the environment in which heisplaced; in other words, it is a conclusion of the law of nature; but this, as has been heretofore shown, is international law, except so far as the latter may appear, from the actual practice and usages of nations, to have departed from it, or, to speak more properly, not to have risen to it. Turning to the actual practice of nations, that is, to the observed fact, we find that it is in precise accordance with the deductive conclusion. No tangible thing can be pointed out, which exhibits the conditions above stated, which is not by the jurisprudence of all civilized nations pronounced to be the subject of property, and protected as such. This seems so manifest as to justify a confidence that the assertion will not be disputed. In the foregoing reasoning no distinction has been observed between ownership by private individuals under municipal law, and by nations under international law. There is no distinction. Nationsare but ag- gregates of individuai men. They exhibit the same ambitions, are sub- ject to like perils, and must resort for safety and peace to similar ex- pedients. Just as it is necessary to the peace, order, and progress of municipal societies that everything possessing the three characteristics above enumerated should be owned by some one, so also it is necessary to the peace, order, and progress of the larger society of nations that everything belonging to the same class, but which from its magnitude is incapable of individual ownership, should be owned by some nation. This truth is well illustrated by the practice of nations for the last four centuries in acknowledging as valid titles to vast tracts of the earth’s surface upon no other foundation than first discovery. Nearly the whole of the American continents was parceled out among Euro- pean nations by the recognition of claims based upon such titles alone! 1The practice and doctrine of European nations upon thissubject are clearly set forth by Mr. Chief Justice Marshall, in delivering the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States iu Johnson vs. MeIntosh (8 Wheat., 543, 572.) A short extract will be pertinent here: “As the right of society to prescribe those rules by which property may be ac- quired and preserved is not, and can not be, drawn into question; as the title to lands, especially, is, and must be admitted, to depend entirely on the law of the na- tion in which they lie, it will be necessary, in pursuing this inquiry, to examine, not simply those principles of abstract justice which the Creator of all things has im- pressed on the mind of his creature, man, and which are admitted to regulate in a great degree the rights of civilized nations, whose perfect independence has been acknowledged, but those principles also which our own Government has adopted in the particular case, and given as the rule of decision, ““On the discovery of this immense continent, the great nations of Europe were PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 57 And, for the most part, the vast territories thus acquired were not even seen. The maritime coasts only were explored, and title to the whole interior, stretching from ocean to ocean, or at least to the sources of the rivers emptying upon the coasts explored, was asserted upon the basis of this limited discovery. Some limitations were placed upon these vast claims resulting from conflicts in the allegations of priority ; but, for the most part, the effectiveness of first discovery in giving title to great areas which had not been even explored was recognized. If the mere willing by the first discoverer that things susceptible of ap- propriation should be his property was held sufficient to make them so, it could only have been from a common conviction that ownership of every part of the earth’s surface by some nation was so essential to the general peace and order, that it was expedient to recognize the slightest moral foundation as sufficient to support a title. The principle has been extended to vast territories which are even incapable of human occupation. The titles of Great Britain to her North American terri- tory extending to the frozen zone, and of the United States derived from Russia to the whole territory of Alaska have never been ques- tioned. THE FORM OF THE INSTITUTION—CQMMUNITY AND PRIVATE PROP- ERTY. But although the existence of human society involves and necessi- tates the institution of property, it does not determine the form which that institution assumes. The necessity that all things susceptible of ownership should be owned is one thing; but who the owner shall be eager to appropriate to themselves so much of it as they could respectively acquire. Its vast extent afforded an ample field to the ambition and enterprise of all; and the character and religion of its inhabitants afforded an apology for considering them as a people over whom the superior genius of Europe might claim an ascendency. The potentates of the world found no difficulty in convincing themselves that they made ample compensation to the inhabitants of the new, by bestowing upon them civili- zation and Christianity, inexchange for unlimited independence. But, as they were all in pursuit of nearly the saine object, it was necessary in order to avoid conflict- ing settlements. and consequent war with each other, to establish a principle which all should acknowledge as the law by which the right of acquisition, which they all asserted, should be regulated as between themselves. This principle was that dis- covery gave title to the governments by whose subjects, or by whose authority it was made, against all other European governments, which title might be consum- mated by possession. The exclusion of all other Europeans necessarily gave to the nation making the discovery the sole right of acquiring the soil from the natives and establishing settlements upon it. It was a right with which no Europeans could interfere. It was a right which all asserted for themselves, and tothe asser- tiou of which by others all assented.” 58 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. is another. As has already been pointed out, the absolute necessities of rude society may be satisfied by making society itself the universal owner; which is the condition actually presented by some very early communities; but individual ownership is the condition found in all societies which have reached any considerable degree of advancement. This matter of the form of the institution is, of course, determined in - a municipal society by its laws; and these are in turn determined by its morality. Ownership is awarded in accordance with the sense of right and fitness which prevails among the members of society. It is this which determines its will, and its will is its law. In seeking for the moral grounds upon which to make its award of the rights of private ownership that which is first and universally ac- cepted is what may be called desert. “ Suum cuique tribuere,” lies as an original conception at the basis of all jurisprudence. In respect to land indeed, an original grant may be required from the community or the sovereign; but whatever a man produces by his labor, or saves by the practice of abstinence, is justly reserved for his exclusive use and benefit. This is the principle upon which the right of private property is by the great majority of jurists placed; and it is often, somewhat incorrectly perhaps, made the foundation of the institution of property itself. In our view a distinction is observable between the institution itself and the form which it assumes. The first springs from the necessity of peace and order, society not being possible without it; but when private property, which is also the result of another necessity, namely, the de- mands of civilized life, becomes the form which the institution assumes, the principle of desert comes into operation to govern the award. OWNERSHIP NOT ABSOLUTE. But what is the extent of the dominion which is thus given by the law of nature to the owner of property? This question has much im- portance in the present discussion and deserves a deliberate considera- tion. In the common apprehension the title of the possessor is absolute, and enables him to deal with his property as he pleases, and even, if he pleases, to destroy it. This notion, sufficiently accurate for most of the common purposes of life, and for all controversies between man and man, is very far from being true. No one, indeed, would assert that he had a moral right to waste or destroy any useful thing; but this limitation of power is, perhaps, commonly viewed a8 a mere moral or PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 59 religious precept, for the violation of which man is responsible only to his Maker, and of which human law takes no notice. The truth is far otherwise. This precept is the basis of much municipal law, and has a widely-reaching operation in international jurisprudence. There are two propositions belonging to this part of our inquiry, closely connected with each other, to which the attention of the Arbitrators is particularly invited. They will be found to have a most important, if not a wholly decisive, bearing upon the present controversy. First. No possessor of property, whether an individual man, or a nation, has an absolute title to it. His title is coupled with a trust for the benefit of mankind. Second. The title is further limited. The things themselves are not given him, but only the wsufruct or increase. He is but the custodian of the stock, or principal thing, holding it in trust for the present and future generations of man. The first of these propositions is stated almost in the language em- ployed by one of the highest authorities on the law of nature and na- tions. Says Puffendorf, “God gave the world, not to this, nor to that man, but to the human race in general.”’ The bounties of nature are gifts not so much to those whose situation enables them to gather them, but to those who need them for use. And Locke, ‘‘ God gave the world to men in common.” If it be asked how this gift in common ean be reconciled with the exclusive possession which the institution of prop- erty gives to particular nations and particular men, the answer is by the instrumentality of commerce which springs into existence with the beginnings of civilization as a part of the order of nature. Indeed iti is only by means of commerce that the original common gift could have been made effectual as such. Every bounty of nature, how- ever it may be gathered by this, or that man, will eventually find its way, through the instrumentality of commerce, to those who want it for its inherent qualities. It is for these, wherever they may dwell, that it is destined. Were it not for these the bounty would be of little use even to those whose situation enables them to control it and to gather it. But for commerce, and the ex- changes effected by it, the greatest part of the wealth of the world would be wasted, or unimproved.’ The Alaskan seals, for instance, 2 Civil Government, Chap, v, § 34. 3*Wherewith accords that of Libanius, God, saith he, hath not made any one part of the world the storehouse of all his blessings, but hath wisely distributed 60 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. would be nearly valueless. A few hundreds, or thousands at the most, would suflice to supply all the needs of the scanty population living on the islands where they are found, or along the shores of the seas through which they pass in their migrations. Indeed, the Pribilof Islands would never have been inhabited, or even visited, by man except for the purpose of capturing seals in order to supply the demands of distant peoples. The great blessing to mankind at large capable of being afforded by this animal would have been wholly unrealized. The sole condition upon which its value depends, even to those who pursue and capture it, is that they are able, by exchang- ing it for the products of other and distant nations, to furnish them- selves with many blessings which they greatly desire. This truth that nature intends her bounties for those who need them, wherever they may dwell, may be illustrated and made more clear by inquiring upon whom the loss would fall if the gift were taken away. Take, for instance, the widely used and almost necessary article of Indiarubber. It is produced in but few and narrowly-limited areas, and we may easily suppose that by some failure of nature, or miscon- duct of man, the production is arrested. A loss would, no doubt, be felt by those who had been engaged in gathering it and exchanging it for other commodities; and a still more extensive one would fall upon the largely greater number whose labor was applied in manufacturing it into the various forms in which it is used; but the loss to both these classes would be but temporary. The cultivators could raise other products, and the manufacturers could employ their industry in other fields. The opportunities which nature offers for the employment of labor are infinite and inexhaustible, and the only effect of a cessation of one industry is to turn the labor devoted to it into other channels. But the loss to the consumers of the article, the loss of those who need that particular thing, would be absolute and irreparable. If these views are well founded it follows that, by the law of nature, every nation, so far as it possesses the fruits of the earth in a measure more than suflicient to satisfy its.own needs, is, in the truest sense, a them through all nations, that so each needing another’s help he might thereby lead men to society; and to this end he discovered unto them the art of merchandising, that so whatsoever any nation produced might be communicated unto others.” * * * §So Theseus speaks very pertinently— “What to one nation nature doth deny, That she, from others, doth by sea supply.” (Grotins; De Juve Belli ac Pacis, Book 11, Chap. 1, § 13.) See also Phillimore, inter- national Law, vol. 1, p. 261, 262. PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 61 trustee of the surplus for the benefit of those in other parts of the world who need them, and are willing to give in exchange for them the prod- ucts of their own labor; and the truth of this conclusion and of the views from which it is drawn will be found fully confirmed by a glance at the approved usages of nations. It is the characteristic of a trust that it is obligatory, and that in case of a refusal or neglect to perform it, such performance may be compelled, or the trustee removed and a more worthy custodian selected as the deposit ory of the trust. It is an admitted principle of the law of nature that commerce is obligatory upon all nations; that no nation is permitted to seclude itself from the rest of mankind and interdict all commerce with foreign nations. Temporary prohibition of commerce for special reasons of necessity are, indeed, allowed; but they must not be made permanent.! 1 The instrumentality of commerce as a part of the scheme of nature in securing to mankind in general the enjoyment of her various gifts, in whatsoever quarter of the earth they may be found, has been pointed out by many writers upon the law of nature and nations. A few citations will be sufficient, the views in which all con- cur. It will appear from those which are herein furnished— 1. That man does not begin to desire the benefit of the gifts to be found in other ands and in which he is entitled to share until he has made some advances towards civilization, and, consequently, commerce may be said to be the offspring of civil- ization. 2. But it reacts upon and greatly stimulates the cause from which it springs, so that civilization may also be said to be the fruit of commerce. 3. In its relations to civilization it is like the division of labor and has some- times been styled ‘the territorial division of labor.” 4. Doubtless there is a large discretion which each nation may justly exercise in respect of the conditions under which it will engage in commerce with other na- tions. But an absolute or unreasonable refusal is in clear violation of natural law. It is a denial by the refusing nation of the fundamental truth that the bounties of nature were bestowed upon mankind. From ‘‘ Des Droits et des Devoirs des Nations Neutres en Temps de Guerre Mari- time,” par L. B. Hautefeuille. Paris, 1848. Vol. I, p. 256: “The Sovereign Master of nature did not confine himself to giving a particular disposition to every man; he also diversified climates and the nature of soils To each country, to each region, he assigned different fruits and special productions, all or nearly all of which were susceptible of being used by man and of satisfying his wants or his pleasures. Almost all regions doubtless produced what was indis- pensable for the sustenance of their inhabitants, but not one produced all the fruits that were necessary to meet all real needs, or more particularly all conventional needs. It was, therefore, necessary to have recourse to other nations and to extend commerce. Man, impelled by that instinct which leads him to seek perfection, created new needs for himself as he made new discoveries. He accustomed himself to the use of all the productions of the earth and of its industry. The cotton, sugar, coffee, and tobacco of the New World have become articles of prime necessity for the European, and an immense trade is carried on in them. The American, in turn, can not dispense with the varied productions of European manufacture. The development of commerce, that is to say, the satisfaction of man’s instincts of sociability and perfectibility, has greatly contributed to, connecting all the nations 62 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. A sure guaranty for the observance of this trust obligation is found in the imperious and universal motive of self-interest. The desire of civilized man to gratify his numerous wants and to better his condi- tion so strongly impels him to commerce with other nations that no other inducement is in general needed. The instances in history are rare in which nations have exhibited unwillingness to engage in com- mercial intercourse; but they are possible under peculiar conditions, and have sometimes actually occurred. Such a refusal is generally believed to have been the real, though it was not the avowed, cause of the war waged by Great Britain against China in 1840, For the purposes of further illustration, a case may be imagined stronger than any of the actual instances referred to. Let it be sup- posed that some particular region [rom which alone a commodity deemed of the universe; it has served asa vehicle, so to speak, for the performance of the duties of humanity. Commerce is really, therefore, an institution of primitive law; it has ifs source and its origin in the divine law itself.” From Vattel (7th Amer. Ed., 1849, Bk. u, ch. 1, sec. 21, p. 143): ‘Src, 21. All men ought to find on earth the things they stand in need of. In the primitive state of communion they took them wherever they happened to meet with them if another had not before appropriated them to his own use. The introduction of dominion and property could not deprive men of so essential a right, and, conse- quently, it can not take place without leaving them, in general, some means of pro- curing what is useful or necessary to them. This meanscommerce; by it every man may still supply his wants. Things being now become property, there is no obtain- ing them without the owner’s consent, nor are they usually to be had for nothing, but they may be bought or exchanged for other things of equal value. Men are, iherefore, undcr an obligation to carry on that commerce with each other if they wish not to deviate from the views of nature, and this obligation extends also to whole nations or states. It is seldom that nature is seen in one place to produce everything neces- sary for the use of man; one country abounds in corn, another in pastures and cattle, a third in timber and metals, etc. If all those countries trade together, as is agree- able to human nature, no one of them will be without such things as are useful and necessary, and the views of nature, our common mother, will be fulfilled. Further, one country is fitter for some kind of products than for another, as, for instance, fitter for the vine than for tillage. If trade and barter take place, every nation, on the certainty of procuring what it wants, will employ its lands and its industry in the most advantageous manner, and mankind in geueral prove gainers by it. Such are the foundations of the general obligations incumb. nt on nations reciprocally to cultivate commerce.” From ‘Lecons de Droit de la Nature et des Gens,” par M. le Professeur Félice, Vol. 1. (Droit des Gens). Paris, 1830. Legon Xvu, page 293: “The need of this exchange is based upon the laws of nature and upon the wise arrangement which the Supreme Being has establishedin the world, each region and each portion of which furnishes, indeed, a great variety of productions, but also lacks certain things required for the comfort or needs of man; this obliges men to exchange their commodities with each other and to form bonds of friendship, PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD : 63 necessary by man everywhere, such as Peruvian bark, could be pro- cured, was within the exclusive dominion of a particular power, and that it should absolutely prohibit the exportation of the commodity; could there be any well-founded doubt that other nations would be justified, under the law of nature, in compelling that nation by arms to permit free commerce in such commodity ? And this trust, of which we are speaking, is not limited to that sur- plus of a nation’s production which is not needed for its own wants, but extends to its means and capabilities for production. No nation has, by the law of nature, a right to destroy its sources and means of production or leave them unimproved. None has the right to convert any portion of the earth into a waste or desolation, or to permit any part which may be made fruitful to remain a waste. To destroy the source from which any human blessing flows is not merely an error, it whereas, otherwise, their passions would impel them to hate and destroy each other. * * * ‘“‘The law of commerce is therefore based upon the obligation under which nations are to assist each other mutually, and to contribute, as far as lies in their power, to the happiness of each other.” From Levi (International Commercial Law, 2d ed., 1863. Vol. 1, Preface, pp. 2.6.0.0. gpd 0 * * * “Commerce is a law of nature, and the right of trading is a natural right.(*) But itis only an imperfect right, inasmuch as each nation is the sole judge of what is advantageous or disadvantageous to itself; and whether or not it be convenient for her to cultivate any branch of trade, or to open trading intercourse with any one country. Hence it is that no nation has a right to compel another na- tion to enter into trading intercourse with herself, or to pass laws for the benefit of trading and traders. Yet the refusal of this natural right, whether as against one nation only, or as against all nations, would constitute an offense against interna- tional law, and it was this refusal to trade, and the exclusion of British traders from her cities and towns, that led to the war with China. From Halleck (International Law (Ed. 1861), Ch. x1, see. 13, p. 280): “Src. 13. To this right of trade there is a corresponding duty of mutual commerce, founded on the general law of nature; for, says Vattel, ‘one country abounds in corn, another in pastures and cattle, a third in timber and metals; all these countries trading together, agreeably to human nature, no one will be without such things as are useful and necessary, and the views of nature, our common mother, will be ful- filled. Further, one country is fitter for some kind of products than another; as for vineyards more than tillage. If trade and barter take place, every nation, on the certainty of procuring what it wants, will employ its industry and its ground in the most advantageous manner, and mankind in general proves a gainer by it. Such are the foundations of the general obligation incumbent on nations reciprocally to cultivate commerce, Therefore, everyone is not only to join in trade as far as it reasonably can, but even to countenance and promote it.’ ” Reddie (Inquiries into International Law. 2d Ed. 1851, Ch. v., Pt. 11, sub see. ii., Art. 1, p. 207): “But the chief source of the intercourse of nations in their individual capacity * Vattel, b. I, ch. 8, sec. 88. 64 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. is acrime. And the wrong is not limited by the boundaries of nations, but is inflicted upon those to whom the blessing would be useful wher- ever they may dwell. And those to whom the wrong is done have the right to redress it. Let the case of the article of India rubber be again taken for an illus- tration, and let it be supposed that the nation which held the fields from which the world obtained its chief supply should destroy its plantations and refuse to continue the cultivation, can it be doubted that other nations would, by the Jaw of nature, be justified in taking possession by force of the territory of the recreant power and establishing over it a governmental authority which would assure a continuance of the culti- vation? And what would this be but a removal of the unfaithful trus- tee, and the appointment of one who would perform the trust?! ey Tn te te is the exchange of commodities, or natural or artificial production. The territory of one State very rarely produces all that is requisite for the supply of the wants, for the use and enjoyment of its inhabitants. To a certain extent one state gener- ally abounds in what others want. A mutual exchange of supertluous commodities is thus reciprocally advantageous for both nations. And, as it is a moral duty in individuals to promote the welfare of their neighbor, it appears to be also the moral duty of a nation not to refuse commerce with other nations when that commerce is not hurtful to itself.” From Kent (Commentaries on American Law. (The Law of Nations, part 1.) Ed. 1866. Ch. II., p. 117). “As the aim of international lawis the happiness and perfection of the general society of mankind, it enjoins upon every nation the punctual observance of beney- olence and good will, as well as of justice toward its neighbors. This is equally the policy and the duty of nations. They ought to cultivate a free intercourse for commercial purposes, in order to supply each other’s wants and promote each other’s prosperity. The variety of climates and productions on the surface of the globe, and the facility of communication by means of rivers, lakes, and the ocean, invite to a liberal commerce, as agreeable to the law of nature, and extremely conducive to national amity, industry, and happiness. The numerons wants of civilized life ean only be supplied by mutual exchange between nations of the peculiar productions of each.” 1 Cases in which nations have supposed themselves justified in interfering with the territory and affairs of other nations have frequently occurred. The war celebrated in Grecian history as the first Sacred War was an early and illustrative instance growing out of the religious sentiment. The temple of Apollo at Delphi was the prin- cipal shrine in the religion of Greece. It was within the territory of the state of Krissa, whose people had desecrated by cultivation the surroundings of the spot where it was situated, and by levying tolls and other exactions had obstructed the pilgrimages which the votaries of the god were wont to make. A large part of Greece arose to punish this violation of the common right, and in a war of ten years’ duration de- stroyed the town of Krissa, and consecrated the plain around the temple to the service of the god by decreeing that it should forever remain untilled and unplanted, (Grote, History of Greece, Lond., 1847, vol. IV, p. 84.) China has furnished one of the few instances in modern times of unwillingness to engage in foreign commerce, This was not the avowed but was probably one of the real causes of the war waged against that nation by Great Britain in 1840. PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 65 It is, indeed, upon this ground, and this ground alone, that the con- quest by civilized nations of countries occupied by savages has been, or can be, defended. The great nations of Europe took possession by force and divided among themselves the great continents of North and South America. Great Britain has incorporated into her extensive empire vast territories in India and Australia by force, and against the will of their original inhabitants. She is now, with France and Ger- many as rivals, endeavoring to establish and extend her dominion in the savage regions of Africa. The United States, from time to time, expel the native tribes of Indians from their homes to make room for theirown people. These acts of the most civilized and Christian nations are inexcusable robberies, unless they can be defended, under the law of nature, by the argument that these uncivilized countries were the gifts of nature to man, and that their inhabitants refused, or were una- ble, to perform that great trust, imposed upon all nations, to make the capabilities of the countries which they hold subservient to the needs of man. And this argument is a sufficient defense, not indeed for the thousand excesses which have stained these conquests, but for the conquests themselves. The second proposition above advanced, namely, that the title which nature bestows upon man to her gifts is of the usufruct only, is, indeed, but a corollary from that which has just been discussed, or rather a part of it, for in saying that the gift is not to this nation or that, but to mankind, all generations, future as well as present, are intended. The earth was designed as the permanent abode of man through ceaseless generations. Each generation, as it appears upon the scene, is entitled only to use the fair inheritance. Itis against the law of nature that any waste should be committed to the disadvantage of the succeeding ten- ants.! The title of each generation may be described in a term familiar ! Since the power of man over things extends no further than to use them accord- ingly as they are in their nature usable, things are not matter for consideration in law except in regard to the use or treatment of which they are capable. Hence no right to things can exist beyond the right to use them according to their nature; and this right is Property. No doubt a person can wantonly destroy a subject of property, or treat it in as many ways which are rather an abuse than a use of the thing. But such abuse is wasteful and immoral; and that itis not at the same time illegal, is simply because there are many duties of morality which it is impossible, inexpedient, or unnecessary for the positive law to encorporate or enforce. I there- fore define property to be the right to the exclusive use of a thing. It will, perhaps, be objected to this that if gathering the acorns, or other fruits of the earth, etc., makes a right to them, then any one may engross as much as he will. 14749 ——5 66 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, to English lawyers as limited to an estate for life; or it may with equal propriety be said to be coupled with a trust to transmit the inheritance to those who succeed in at least as good a condition as it was found. reasonable use only excepted. That one generation may not only con- sume or destroy the annual increase of the products of the earth, but the stock also, thus leaving an inadequate provision for the multitude of successors which it brings into life, is a notion so repugnant to reason as scarcely to need formal refutation. The great writers upon the law of nature and nations properly content themselves with simply affirm- ing, without laboring to establish, these self-evident truths. The obligation not to invade the stock of the provision made by nature for the support of human life is in an especial manner imposed upon civilized societies; for the danger proceeds almost wholly from them. It is commerce, the fruit of civilization, and which at the same time extends and advances it, that subjects the production of each part of the globe to the demands of every other part, and thus threat- ens, unless the tendency is counteracted by efficient husbandry, to encroach upon the sources of supply. The barbaric man with sparse numbers scattered over the face of the earth, with few wants, and not engaged in commerce, makes but a small demand upon the natural in- crease. He never endangers the existence of the stock, and neither has, nor needs, the intelligent foresight to make provision for the future, But with the advance of civilization, the increase in population, and the multiplication of wants, a peril of overconsumption arises, and along with it a development of that prudential wisdom which seeks to avert the danger. The great and principal instrumentality designed to counteract this threatening tendency is the institution of private individual property, which, by holding out to every man the promise that he shall have the exclusive possession and enjoyment of any increase in the products of nature which he may effect by his care, labor, and abstinence, brings into play the powerful motive of self-interest, stimulates the exertion in every direction of all his faculties, both of mind and body, and thus To which I answer: Not so. The same law of nature that does by this means give us property, does also bound that property too. ‘ God has given us all things richly,” (1 Tim. vi, 17,) is the voice of reason confirmed by inspiration. But how far has he given it tous? To°enjoy. Asmuch as any one can make use to any advantage of life before it spoils, so much he may by his labor fix a property in. Whatever isbeyond this is more than his share, and belongs to others. Nothing was made by God tor mau to spoil or destroy. (8. Martin Leaks, Jurid. Soc. Papers, Vol. 1, p. 582.) PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 67 leads to a prodigiously increased production of the fruits of the earth. There are some provisions to this end which are beyond the power of private men to supply, or for supplying which no sufficient induce- ment can be held out to them, inasmuch as the rewards can not be secured to them exclusively; and here the self-interest of nations sup- plements and codperates with that of individuals. A large share of the legislative policy of civilized states is devoted to making provision for future generations. Taxation is sought to be limited to the annual income of society. Permanent institutions of science are established for the purpose of acquiring a fuller knowledge of natural laws, to the end that waste may be restricted, the earth be made more fruitful, and the stock of useful animals increased. The destruction of useful wild animals is sought to be prevented by game laws, and the attempt is even made to restock the limitless areas of the seas with animal life which may be made subservient to man. The same policy is observable in the ordinary municipal law of states. Whenever the possessor of property is incapable of good husbandry, and therefore liable to waste or misapply that part of the wealth of so- ciety which is confided to him, he is removed from the custody, and a more prudent guardian substituted in his place. Infants, idiots, and insane persons are deprived of the control of their property, and the state assumes the guardianship. This policyis adopted not merely out of regard to the private interests of the present owner, but in order also to promote the permanent objects of society by protecting the interests of future generations. There are some exceptions, rather apparent than real, to the law which confines each generation to the increase or usufruct of the earth. Nature holds in some of her storehouses the slow accumula- tions of long preceding ages, which can not be reproduced by the agency of man. The products of the mineral kingdom, when con- sumed, can not be restored by cultivation. But here the operation of the institution of private property is still effective, by exacting the highest price, to limit the actual consumption to the smallest extent consistent with a beneficial use. Again, it is not possible to limit the consumption of useful wild birds to the annual increase; for they can not be made the subjects of exclusive appropriation as property, and consequently can not be increased in numbers by the care and absti- nence of individual man. The motive of self-interest can not here be brought into play, But society still makes the only preservative effort 68 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. in its power by restricting consumption through the agency of game laws. So, also, in the case of fishes inhabiting the seas and reproducing their species therein. It is impossible to limit the extent to which they may be captured; but here nature, as if conscious of the inability of man to take care of the future, removes the necessity, in most cases, for such care by the enormous provision for reproduction which she makes. The possible necessity, however, or the wisdom of endeavoring to sup- plement the provision of nature, has already been taken notice of by man, and efforts are now in progress to prevent an apprehended de- struction of the stock. The case of fishes resorting, for the purposes of reproduction, to interior waters, has, for a long time, engaged the attention of governments, and much success has followed efforts to make the annual increase adequate to human wants. SUMMARY OF DOCTRINES ESTABLISHED. The foregoing discussion concerning the origin, foundation, extent, form, and limitations of the institution of property will, it 1s believed, be found to furnish, in addition to the doctrines of municipal law, decisive tests for the determination of the principal question, whether the United States have a property in the seal herds of Alaska; but it may serve the purposes of convenience to present, before proceeding to apply the conclusions thus reached, a summary of them in a concise form. First. The institution of property springs from and rests upon two prime necessities of the human race: 1. The establishment of peace and order, which is necessary to the existence of any form of society. 2. The preservation and increase of the useful products of the earth, in order to furnish an adequate supply for the constantly increasing demands of civilized society. Second. These reasons, upon which the institution of property is founded, require that every useful thing, the supply of which is limited, 2 PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 69 and which is capable of ownership, should be assigned to some legal and determinate owner. Third. The extent of the dominion which, by the law of nature, is conferred upon particular nations over the things of the earth, is limited in two ways: 1. They are not made the absolute owners. Their title is coupled with a trust for the benefit of mankind. The human race is entitled to participate in the enjoyment. 2, Asa corollary or part of the last foregoing proposition, the things themselves are not given; but only the increase or usufruct thereof.) APPLICATION OF THE FOREGOING PRINCIPLES TO THE QUESTION OF PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN HERD OF SEALS. In entering upon the particular discussion whether, upon the princi- ples above established, the United States have a property interest in the seal herd, it is obvious that we must have in mind a body of facts which have not, as yet, been fully stated. We were obliged, indeed, while showing that the seals must be re- garded as the subjects of property under the settled and familiar rules of municipal law, to briefly point out that the question whether they were, under that law, the subjects of property depended upon their nature and habits, and not upon whether they were to be classed under one or the other of the vague and uncertain general divisions of wild and tame; and also that they had, as part of their nature and habits, all the essential qualities upon which that law had declared several other descriptions of animals commonly designated as wild to be, nev- ertheless, the subjects of property. But this brief description is not sufficient for the purposes of the broader argument upon which we are now engaged. We should have in mind a complete knowledge of every material fact connected with these animals. 1 In the foregoing discussion, which involves only the most general principles, and concerning which there is little controversy, we have avoided frequent refer- ence to authorities in order not to interrupt the attention. But an examination of the authorities should not be omitted. To facilitate this, somewhat copious cita- tions are gathered and arranged in the Appéudix to this portion of the argument. 70 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The first step, therefore, in the further progress of our argument must be to assemble more precisely and fully our information concern- ing the utility of these animals, their nature and habits, the modes by which they are pursued and captured, the danger of extermination to which they are exposed, from what modes of capture that danger arises, whether it is capable of being averted, and by what means. We pro- ceed, therefore, to place before the learned Arbitrators a concise state- ment of the facts bearing upon these points. And first, concerning their utility. That they belong to the class of useful animals is, of course, a conceded fact; but in this general admis- sion the extent of the utility, the magnitude of the blessing which they bring to man, may not be adequately estimated. They are useful for food, and constitute a considerable part of the provision for this pur- pose which is available to many of the native tribes of Indians vho inhabit the coasts along which their migrations extend. They are ab- solutely necessary for this purpose to the small native population of the Pribilof Islands. These could not subsist if this provision were lost. They are useful for the oil which they afford; but their principal utility consists in their skins, which afford clothing, not only to the native tribes above mentioned, but, when prepared by the skill which is now employed upon them, furnish a garment almost unequaled for its com- fort, durability, and beauty. There is, indeed, no part of the animal which does not subserve some human want. The eagerness with which it is sought, and the high price which the skins command in the mar- kets of the world, are further proof of its exceeding utility. Its prodi- gious numbers, even after the havoe which has been wrought by the re- lentless war made upon it by man, exhibit the magnitude of the value of the species; and if we add to these numbers, as we justly may, the increase which would come if its former places of resort, which have been laid waste by destructive pursuit, should be again, by careful and protected cultivation, repeopled, the annual supply would exceed the present yield perhaps tenfold. Leaving out of view here the unlawful character of the employment, we may say that there is a further utility in the employment given to human labor in the pursuit and capture of the animal and the manu- facture of the skins. There are probably two thousand persons em- ployed for a large part of the year in the taking of seals at sea, and a large number in the building of the vessels and making of the imple- ments required in that occupation. A much larger number, principally PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. ia inhabitants of Great Britain, are wholly employed in the preparation of the skins for market. The annual value of the manufactured product ean searcely be less than $5,000,000 or $6,000,000, But this last mentioned utility, that which arises from the employ- ment given to industry, is not absolute and permanent. If the industry were destroyed by the total destruction of the seals, some inconvenience would doubtless be felt before the labor could be diverted into other channels. It could, however, and would, be so di- verted, and the loss would thus be repaired. But, as already observed, the case would be different with theloss inflicted upon those who usethe skins. No substitute could supply this loss; nor would there be any corresponding gain. In the case of some useful wild animals, the American bison, for instance, which inhabit the earth and subsist upon its fruits, and which are necessarily exterminated by the occupation of the wild regions over which they roam, there is a more than compen- sating advantage in the more numerous herds of tamed animals which subsist upon the same food. But the seal occupies no soil which would otherwise be useful. The food upon which it subsists comes from the illimitable storehouses of the seas, and could not otherwise be made productive of any distinct utility. We are next to take into more particular consideration the nature and habits of the seal, and the other cireumstances above adverted to which enable us to measure the perils to which the existence of the race is exposed, and the means by which these may be best counter- acted. It is here that we encounter, for the first time, any material contradiction and dispute in the evidence; and, inasmuch as it is in a high degree important that we should ascertain the precise truth upon these points, it should be clearly understood what evidence is really before the arbitrators, and what measure of credit and weight should be allowed to the different classes of evidence. Any critical and de- tailed discussion of the evidence, if incorporated into the body of the argument, might involve interruptions too much protracted in the chain of reasoning, and will, for that reason, be separately presented in ap- pendices; but some general notion should be had at the outset of the relative importance of the various pieces of evidence. First. There isa large body of common knowledge respecting the natural history of animals and the facts of animal life, which all intel- ligent and well educated minds are presumed to possess. In the ab- sence of those facilities, such as municipal tribunals afford for the pro- > te ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. duction and examination of witnesses, it is supposed by the under- © signed that this common knowledge may, with large latitude, be deemed to be already possessed by the learned Arbitrators, and to be available in the discussion and decision of the controversy. Second. In the next place this knowledge may be supplemented by an appeal to the authorative writings of scientific and learned men, and also to the writings of trustworthy historians and of actual ob- servers of the facts which they relate. Third. The reports, both joint and separate, of the Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the ninth article of the Treaty, are, by the terms of the Treaty, madeevidence, and were undoubtedly contemplated as likely to furnish most important and trustworthy information. Fourth. The testimony of ordinary witnesses, actual observers of the facts to which they testify. This is contained in ex parte depositions, but must, notwithstanding, be received as competent. No mode hav- ing been provided by which witnesses could be subjected to cross-ex- amination, these depositions must be accepted as belonging to the class of best obtainable evidence. The necessity of caution and serutiny in the use of it is manifest; but it may be found to be of great value, de- pending upon the number of concurring voices, and the degree of intel- ligence and freedom from bias which may be exhibited. Concerning the reports of the Commissioners, some observations are appropriate in this place. Their duties were defined in concise but very clear language in the ninth article of the Treaty, as follows: Each Government shall appoint two Commissioners to investigate, conjointly with the Commissioners of the other Government, 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. They found themselves unable to agree, except upon a very few points, the most important of which are expressed in the following language: 5. We are in thorough agreement that, for industrial as well as for other obvious reasons, it is incumbent upon all nations, and particu- larly upon those having direct commercial interests in fur-seals, to pro- vide for their protection and preservation. * * * 7. We find that since the Alaska purchase a marked diminution in the number of seals on and habitually resorting to the Pribilof Islands has taken place; that it has been cumulative in effect, and that it is the result of excessive killing by man.? 1 Case of the United States, p. 309. PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 73 These gentlemen were, some of them at least, men eminent in the world of science, and acknowledged experts upon the subject committed to them for examination. The language of the treaty simply called for their opinions and advice upon a question mainly scientific. What was the reason which prevented them from coming to an agreement? Was it that the question was a difficult and doubtful one upon which men of science might well differ? It would seem not. It is described in the joint report as being “ considerable difference of opinion on certain fundamental propositions.” What it really was appears from the separate Report of the Commissioners of the United States.1. They conceived, as is therein stated by them, that the only subject which they were to consider was the facts relating to seal life in the Bering Sea, and what measures were necessary to secures its preservation. If there were any question of property, or international right, or political expediency, involved, it was, presumably, to be determined by others. They had no qualifications for such a task, and were not called upon to perform it. But the Commissioners of Great Britain took a different view. In that view the question of the respective national rights of Great Britain and the United States was one of “fundamental importance,” and no measures were entitled to consideration which denied or ignored the supposed right of subjects of Great Britain to carry on pelagic sealing. Their understanding of the question upon which they were to give an opinion was not simply what measures were necessary to preserve the seals from extermination but what were the measures most effective to that end which could be devised consistently with a supposed right on the part of nations generally to carry on pelagic sealing. It is not surprising that no agreement could be reached. There was a radical diiierence of opinion between the Com- missioners in respect to their functions. According to the views of the United States Commissioners, a question mainly scientific was sub- mitted to them; but their associates on the part of Great Britain thought that legal and political questions were also submitted, or, if not submitted, that they were bound to act upon the view that the range of their scientific inquiry was bounded and limited by assump- tions which they were required to make respecting international rights; in other words, their functions were not those of scientific seekers for the truth, but diplomatic agents, intrusted with national interests, and charged with the duty of making the best agreement they could con- sistently with those interests. | Ibid., pp. 316-318, 74 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. It seems very ciear that this conception of their powers and functions was wholly erroneous. There were differences between Great Britain and the United States respecting the subject of pelagic seal hunting, but both nations were agreed that it was extremely desirable that the capture of seals should be so regulated, if possible, as to prevent the extermination of the species. It was extremely desirable to both parties to know one thing, and that was, whether any, and if any, what measures were necessary in order to prevent this threatened extermination, This wasa mainly scientific question; but whether the measures which might be found to be thus necessary could be acceded to by both parties to the controversy was quite another question, the decision of which was lodged with the political representatives of the respective governments. If they should be prepared to accede to them, all difficulty would be removed. If they should not be able to agree, a tribunal was provided with power to determine what should be done, and the reports of the Commissioners were to be laid before it for its instruction. . Such being the view which the Commissioners of Great Britain took of their own functions, their report should be regarded as partaking of the same character, and such it appears to be upon inspection. There isin no part of it any purpose discernible to discover and reveal the true cause which is operating to diminish the numbers of the fur-seal, and to indicate the remedy, if any, which science points out. It is ap- parent throughout the report that its authors conceived themselves to be charged with the defense of the Canadian interest in pelagic sealing; and it consequently openly exhibits the character of a labored apology for that interest, particularly designed to minimize its destructive tend- ency, and to support a claim for its continued prosecution. This being its distinguishing feature, it is, with great respect, submitted that any weight to be allowed to it as evidence should be confined to the state- ments of facts which fell under the observation of its authors; that these should be regarded as the utterances of unimpeachable witnesses of the highest character, testifying, however, under a strong bias; and that the opinions and reasonings set forth in it should be treated with the attention which is usually accorded to the arguments of counsel, but as having no value whatever as evidence. In thus pointing out the general character of the Report of the Com- missioners of Great Britain, no reflection is intended upon its authors. Similar observations would be applicable to the Report of the United PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. 15 States Commissioners had they taken the saine view of their functions. Their conception, however, of the duties imposed upon them was widely different. They regarded themselves as called upon simply to ascertain the truth, whatever it might be, concerning ‘seal life in Behring Sea and the measures necessary for its proper protection and preservation.” This seemed to them essentially a scientific inquiry, and not to embrace any consideration of national rights, or of the freedom of the seas—a class of questions which they would probably have deemed themselves ill qualified to solve. They are not, indeed, to be presumed to be less interested in behalf of their own nation than their associates on the side of Great Britain; but as they did not conceive themselves charged with the duty of protecting a supposed national interest, they could remem- ber that science has no native country, and that they could not defend themselves, either in their own eyes, or before their fellows of the scien- tific world, if they had allowed the temptations of patriotism to swerve them from the interests of truth. Their report is earnestly recommended to the attention of the Tribunal as containing a statement of all the material facts relating to seal life, uncolored by national interest, and clearly presenting the scientific conclusions which those facts compel. From the evidence classified as above, which may be regarded as being before the Tribunal, we now proceed to collect the principal facts relating to seal life, and the methods by which the animal is pursued and captured, so far as those facts are material in the inquiry whether the United States have the property interest asserted by them. For the principal facts of seal life we borrow the statement contained in the re- port of the United States Commissioners. PRINCIPAL FACTS IN THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE FUR-SEAL. 1. The Northern fur-seal (Callorhinus ursinus) is an inhabitant of Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, where it breeds on rocky islands. Only four breeding colonies are known, namely, (1) on the Pribilof Islands, belonging to the United States; (2) on the Commander Islands, belonging to Russia; (3) on Robben Reef, belonging to Russia; and (4) on the Kurile Islands, belonging to Japan. The Pribilof and Coi- mander Islands are in Bering Sea; Robben Reef is in the Sea of Okhotsk, near the island of Saghalien, and the Kurile Island sare be- tween Yezo and Kamchatka. The species is not known to breed in any other part of the world. The fur-seals of Lobos Island and the south seas, and also those of the Galapagos Islands and the islands off lower California, belong to widely-different species, and are placed in different genera from the Northern fur-seal,. 2. In winter the fur-seals migrate into the North Pacific Ocean. The herds from the Commander Islands, Robben Reef, and the Kurile Islands move south along the Japan coast, while the herd belonging to 76 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, the Pribilof Islands leaves Bering Sea by the eastern passes of the Aleutian chain. 3. The fur-seals of the Pribilof Islands do not mix with those of the Commander and Kurile Islands at any time of the year. In summer the two herds remain entirely distinct, separated by a water interval of several hundred miles; and in their winter migrations those from the Pribilof Islands follow the American coast in a southeasterly direction, while those from the Commander and Kurile Islands follow the Siberian and Japan coasts in a southwesterly direction, the two herds being separated in winter by a water interval of sever: al thousand miles. This regularity in the movements of the different herds is in obedi- ence to the well-known law that migratory animals follow definite routes in migration, and return year after year to the same places to breed. Were it not for this law, there would be no such thing as stability of species, for interbreeding and existence under diverse physiographic conditions would destroy all specific characters.! . The pelage of the Pribilof fur-seals.differs so markedly from that of the Commander Islands fur-seals that the two are readily distinguished by experts, and have very different values, the former commanding much higher prices than the latter at the regular London sales. 4, The old breeding males of the Pribilof herd are not known to range much south of the Aleutian Islands, but the females and young appear along the American coast as far south as northern California. Return- ing, the herds of females move northward along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in January, February, and March, occurring at varying distances from shore. Following the Alaska coast northward and westward, they leave the North Pacific Ocean in June, traverse the eastern passes in the Aleutian chain, and proceed at once to a Pribilof Islands. . The old (breeding) males reach the islands much earlier, the first Acree the last week in April or early in May. They at once land and take stands on the rookeries, where they await the arrival of the fe- males. Each male (called a bull) selects a large rock, on or near which he remains until August, unless driven oft. by stron ger bulls, never leaving for a singie instant, night or day, and taking neither food nor water. Both before and for sometime atter the arrival of the females (called cows) the bulls fight savagely among themselves for positions on the rookeries and for possession of the cows, and many are severely wounded. All the bulls are located by June 20 6. The bachelor seals (holluschickie) begin to arrive early in May, and large numbers are on the hauling rounds by the end of May or first week of June. T hey begin to leave the islands in November, but many remain into December or January, and sometimes into Febr wary. 7. The cows begin arriving early in June, and soon appear in large Srigaic or droves, immense numbers taking their places on the rook- eries each day between the-middle and end of the month, the precise dates varying with the neather. They assemble about the old bullsin compact groups, called harems. The harems are complete early in July, 1The home of a species is the area over Which it breeds. It is well known to nat- uralists that migratory animals, whether mammals, birds, fishes, or members of other groups, leave their homes for a part of the year because the climatic conditions or the food supply become unsuited to their needs; and that wherever the home of a spe- cies is so situated as to provide a suitable climate and food supply throughout the year, such species do not migrate. Thisis the explanation of the fact that the northern fur-seals are migrants, while the fur-seals of tropical and warm temperate latitudes do not migrate. PROPERTY IN THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. tt at which time the breeding rookeries attain their maximum size and compactness. 8. The cows give birth to their young soon after taking their places on the harems, in the latter part of June and in July, but a few are de- layed until August. The period of gestation is between eleven and twelve months. 9. A single young is born in each instance. The young at birth are about equally divided as to sex. 10. The act of nursing is performed on land, never in the water. It is necessary, therefore, for the cows to remain at the islands until the young are weaned, which is not until they are four or five months old. Each mother knows her own pup, and will not permit any other to nurse. This is the reason so many thousand pups starve to death on the rookeries when their mothers are killed at sea. We have repeatedly seen nursing cows come out of the water and search for their young, often traveling considerable distances and visiting group after group of pups before finding theirown. On reaching an assemblage of pups, some of which are awake and others asleep, she rapidly moves about among them, sniffing at each, and then gallops off to the next. Those that are awake advance toward her, with the evident purpose of nursing, but she repels them with a snarl and passes on. When she finds her ‘own, She fondles it a moment, turns partly over on her side so as to present her nipples, and it promptly begins to suck. In one instance we saw a mother carry her pup back a distance of fifteen meters (50 feet) before allowing it to nurse. Itis said that the cows sometimes recognize their young by their cry, a sort of bleat. 11. Soon after birth the pups move away from the harems and hud- dle together in small groups, called “ pods,” along the borders of the breeding rookeries and at some distance from the water. The small groups gradually unite to form larger groups, which move slowly down to the water’s edge. When six or eight weeks old the pups begin to learn to swim. Not only are the young not born at sea, but if soon atter birth they are washed into the sea they are drowned. 12. The fur-seal is polygamous, and the male is at least five times as large as the female. As a rule each male serves about fifteen or twenty females, but in some cases as many as fifty or more. 13. The act of copulation takes place on land, and lasts from five to ten minutes. Most of the cows are served by the middle of July, or soon after the birth of their pups. They then take the water, and come and go for food while nursing. 14. Many young bulls succeed in securing a few cows behind or away from the breeding harems, particularly late in the season (after the middle of July, at which time the regular harems begin to break up). It is almost certain that many, if not most, of the young cows are served for the first time by these young bulls, either on the haul- ing grounds or along the water front. These bulls may be distinguished at a glance from those on the reg- ular harems by the circumstance that they are fat and in excellent con- dition, while those that have fasted for three months on the breeding rookeries are much emaciated and exhausted. The young bulls, even when they have succeeded in capturing a number of cows, can be driven from their stands with little difficulty, while (as is well known) the old bulls on the harems will die in their tracks rather than leave. 15. The cows are believed to take the bull first when two years old, and deliver their first pup when three years old. 16. Bulls first take stands ou the breeding rookeries when six or seven fies ae ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. years old. Before this they are not powerful enough to fight the older bulls for positions on the harems. 17. Cows, when nursing, regularly travel long distances to feed. They are frequently found 100 or 150 miles from the islands, and some- times at greater distances. 18. The food of the fur-seal consists of fish, squids, crustaceans, and probably other forms of marine life also. (See Appendix E.) 19. The great majority of cows, pups, and such of the breeding bulls as have not already gone, leave the islands about the middle of Novem- ber, the date varying considerably with the season. 20, Part of the nonbreeding mate seals (holluschickie), together with a few old bulls, remain until January, and in rare instances until Feb- ruary, or even later. 21. The fur-seal as a species is present at the Pribilof Islands eight or nine months of the year, or from two-thirds to three fourths of the time, and in mild winters sometimes during the entire year. The breeding bulls arvive earliest and remain continuously on the islands about four months; the breeding cows remain about six months, and part of the nonbreeding male seals about eight or nine months, and sometimes throughout the entire year. 22. During the northward migration, as has been stated, the last of the body or herd of fur-seals leave the North Pacific and enter Bering Sea in the latter part of June. Sedgwick on Measure of Damages, 6th ed. 583; Conrad v. Pacific Insurance Company, 6 Peters U. S., 262-282; The Ann Caroline, 2 Wall., 22 U. 8. 538; Smith et. al. v. Coudry, 1 How. U. 8., 28-34; Wood’s Mayne on Damages, 3 Eng. and Ist An. ed., p. 486. DAMAGES CLAIMED BY GREAT BRITAIN. 225 In Sutherland on Damages, vol. 1, p. 173 (now a standard authority in the courts of the United States), the rule is stated as follows: The value of the property constitutes the measure or an element of damages in a great variety of cases both of tort and contract; and where there are no such aggravations as vail for or justify exemplary damages, in actions in which such damages are recoverable, the value is ascertained and adopted as the measure of compensation for being deprived of the property, the same in actions of tort as in actions upon contract. In both cases the value is the legal and fixed measure of dainages and not discretionary with the jury. * * * And, more- over, the value is fixed in each instance on similar considerations at the time when by the defendant’s fault the loss culminates. (Grand Tower Co. vs. Phillips, 23 Wall., 471. Owen vs. Routh, 14 C. B., 327.) To recapitulate: None of the items of these several claims for “ esti- mated catch,” or “‘ probable catch,” for the season or voyage in which the seizures took place can be considered, because they are in the nature of prospective profits, and tall within the rule adopted vy the tribunal in the Alabama Claims, and the other authorities cited; and all the items for the probable earnings of these arrested vessels, subse- quent to the seizure, fall within the same objection of uncertainty and contingency, and the further objection that the conversion of the prop- erty was completed by the seizure, and the owners’ only remedy was for the value of the property so seized at the time of the seizure. But, if the Tribunal for any reasons shall deem itself required to pass upon these items or find any facts involved therein, except that of their invalidity, we then briefly submit that the “estimated” and “probable catches” are altogether overstated and extravagant. In the declaration of James Douglas Warren, in support of the claims in behalf of the alleged owner of the Suyward, Anna Beck, Grace, and Dolphin, he states that the estimate is made on the basis of three hundred and fifty skins taken by each boat and canoe for the full season.! In the report of the British Commissioners, forming part of the Brit- ish case,” it is shown that the average catch per canoe or boat for the British sealers for the same year was 164 seals, or less than one-half of Capt. Warren’s average; and in the same paragraph, the British Com- missioners say: The actual success of individual sealing vessels of course depends so largely upon the good fortune or good judgment which may enable them to fall in with and follow considerable bodies of seals, as well as 1 Case of Her Majesty’s Government, Schedule of Claims, pp. 18, 22, 25, 29. 3 Report of Br. Com., sec. 407, p. 74. 14749. 15 226 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, on the weather experienced, that the figures representing the catch compared to the boats or whole number of men employed constitute a more trustworthy criterion than any general statements. We may, therefore, safely say that if conjecture, based upon any rule of averages, is to be resorted to for the purpose of attempting to ap- proximate the probable catches of these vessels, the British Commis- sioners have given far more reliable data than that furnished by these claimants. The fallacy of these “estimates” is also shown in another way. We open the schedule of the British claims at random and take the claim growing out of the seizure of the Minnie, No. 19.2 It seems, from the declaration accompanying the claim, that she left Victoria the fore part of May on a sealing voyage in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering 7th of June, at which time she had caught 150 seals. She hunted seals in the Bering Sea until July Sea. She entered Bering Sea on the 2 15, during which time she had taken 270 skins, which was at the rate of 15 skins per day. She was seized on the 15th of July; leaving her 16 days of July and 16 in August, making 32 days in all of her sealing season, during which time she would have caught, at the rate of 15 per day, 480 seals; to which adding the 420 she had taken previously, makes a total catch for the sealing season of 900; while her “estima- ted catch” is 2,500 seals for the season. Take also the claim of the Ada, No. 10.3 She entered Bering Sea, as is shown by the declaration accompanying the claim, about the 16th day of July, 1887, and continued sealing in the said sea until the 25th day of August, which was beyond the time when skins taken are con- sidered merchantable,* and within two weeks of the time when, as the British Commissioners admit,® the sealing season closes, and yet her entire catch up to that time was only 1876 skins, while the “estimated” or ‘probable catch” is put at 2876. The valne aud tonnage of these vessels is also largely overstated, as is shown by the tables submitted with the Counter Case of the United States,® and the value of several of the vessels seized was ascertained by sworn appraisers of the District Court of Alaska and shown to be much lower than the value stated in this schedule of claims.7 That these: 1 Report of Br. Com., p. 73, sec. 407. 2Case of Her Majesty’s Government, Schedule of Claims, p. 56. 3 Ibid, p. 34. 4Counter Case of the United States, Appendix, pp. 357, 376, 384. 5 Report of Br. Com., sec, 212. 6 Counter Case of the United States, Appendix, pp. 339, et seq. ¥ Ibid., pp. 329- 38. DAMAGES CLAIMED BY GREAT BRITAIN. mek appraisals were fair and showed the substantial and fair value of the property is evidenced by the fact that, although the owners of the ves- sels had the privilege of releasing them upon bonds, none of them, ex- cept the Sayward, were so released, although application was made to have their valuation reduced in order that the owners might give bonds.! We might follow the analysis of different items of these claims and successfully show that they are all very much exaggerated, but do not deem it necessary to do so, because we feel sure the members of this Tribunal will take notice of the fact that individuals in making claims against a government, whether it be their own or a foreign government, invariably expand these claims to the largest amount their consciences will possibly tolerate. H. W. BLODGET?. a, 1Senate Doc. 106, 50th Cong., Second Sess., pp. 28, 74. 228 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, Six tr. SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE, To the end that the High Contracting Parties should become fully in- formed of all the facts bearing upon the differences between them, and as aright method of securing evidence as to those points touching which a dispute might exist, it was stipulated by Article LX of the Treaty that two Commissioners on the part of each Government should be appointed to make a joint investigation and to report, in order that such reports and recommendations might in due form be submitted to the Arbitrators, should the contingency therefor arise. The Commissioners were duly appointed in compliance with this pro- vision of the Treaty, and so far as they were able to agree, they made a joint report, which is to be found at page 307 of the Case of the United States. It will be seen from this joint report that the Commis- sioners were in thorough agreement that, for industrial as well as for other obvious reasons, it was incumbent upon all nations, and particu- larly upon those having direct commercial interests in Jur-seals, to pro- vide for their proper protection and preservation. They were also in accord as to the fact that since the Alaska purchase a marked diminu- tion of the number of seals on and habitually resorting to the Pribilof Tslands had taken place; that this diminution was cumulative in effect and was the result of excessive killing by man. Beyond this the Com- missioners were unable, by reason of considerable difference of opinion on certain fundamental propositions, to join in a report, and they there- fore agreed that their respective conclusions should be stated in sev- eral reports which, under the terms of the Treaty, might be submitted to their respective Governments. The United States have submitted, with the report of their Commis- sioners, a voluminous mass of testimony which appears to have been elicited from all classes of persons who, by their education, residence, training, ete., might be enabled to give information of practical value and of a reliable character to the contracting governments. It has ~~ SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 229 been the intention, in procuring evidence, to follow, as closcly as the circustances permitted, the principles and methods obtaining in both countries in litigation between private parties, and although it was not possible to produce each witness before a magistrate and tender him for cross-examination, in every instance the name, the residence, and the profession or business of the witness has been given, and in every instance the witness has sworn to the truth of his deposition. This method of performing their functions may be favorably contrasted with the course which the Commissioners of Great Britain thought it ineum- bent upon or permissible for them to pursue. In very few instances have they seen fit to give the name of their informant or to place it in the power of the United States to test the reliability of the source from which they had derived their knowledge, real or supposed. But they have presented a great mass of statements of their own, evidently based in a great measure upon conjecture, much of it directly traceable to manifest partiality, and marked, to a singular degree, by the exhibition of prejudice against the one party and bias in favor of the other. The extent to which this has been carried must, in the eyes of all impartial persons, deprive it of all value as evidence. How far counsel for the United States are justified in making this sweeping criticism upon the work of the British Commissioners will appear hereafter, when detailed attention is given to the result of their labors. The adoption of such a course is the more to be regretted as it was evidently the purpose and object of the British Government that an entirely different investigation should be carried out by its agents; nor had that Government hesitated to express its earnest desire that the actual facts should be given and that the investigation should be carried on with a strict impartiality. Itis certain that the Commissioners were warned in clear language that “great care should be taken to sift the evidence that was brought before them.” (See instructions to the British Commissioners, page 1 of their Report). In attempting to lay before this distinguished Tribunal the facts that may enlighten its judgment, the counsel for the United States propose to show what facts are established, substantially without controversy, and wherein their contention in case of difference is sustained by un- mistakable preponderance of proof. For the purpose of facilitating the labors of this body, they propose to treat every topic of special im- portance separately and to produce the evidence which has a bearing upon the discussion of its merits, 230 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. L—TueEr GENERAL NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUR-SEAL. It is unfortunate that even upon so familiar a subject and one so often treated as the seal, its nature, and habits, there should be a wide di- vergence between the American and British Commissioners. In fact, it would seem that the animal observed by the Commissioners from Great Britain was an entirely different animal from that considered and studied by the Commissioners appointed by the United States. This is the more remarkable because for more than a century a multi- tude of observers, scientists, government agents, and overseers have been giving their attention to the nature, habits, and life of the fur- bearing seal, the best method of protecting the animal from destruction, and the wisest course to secure an annual increase for the purposes of commerce; the reason for which the supply of these valuable creatures has diminished; the number of animals yearly killed, ete. They cer- tainly by this time ought to have become fairly ascertained and known and to be placed beyond the reach of discussion or dispute, and so, in fact, they seem to be. There has been a general concurrence among the observers referred to, as complete as may be found among the same class of persons in relation to the nature and habits of ordinary domestie animals. But it has become apparent that the British Commissioners have in- their separate report thought fit to make au elaborate defense of the practice of pelagic sealing and to have imparted to their investigations and the formulation of their conclusions so strong a desire to protect the supposed interests of their people as to lead them to most extraor- dinary conclusions; indeed, this unfortunate result seemed almost inevitable, the premises upon which they started being conceded. To defend pelagic sealing, the main feature of which consists of slanghter- ing gravid females or nursing mothers, 1t was almost inevitable that some fundamental mistakes should be made as to the nature and hab- its of the animals and that statements should be adopted and theories advanced which, upon their face, are utterly unworthy of countenance or respect. The animal discovered by the British Commissioners might be defined to be a mammal essentially pelagic in its natural condition and which might be entirely so if it chose to be; an animal, too, which is gradually assuming that exclusive character. Coition takes place very frequeitly and more naturally in the water. It is a polygamous animal and when on land exbibits extreme jealousy to guard its harem, Pa SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 231: but whether this disposition is preserved and exhibited in the water, and how or whether this is a disappearing trait, does not appear. Two pups are not infrequently dropped ata birth, and the mothers, with a generous disregard for the ordinary rules of maternity in nature, suckle their own when it is convenient, but take up other pups indifferently, pro- vided the strange offspring does not betray the odor of fresh milk. By this indiscriminate display of maternal instinct the generality of pups are supported until they are able to procure their own food. The loss of an individual mother becomes in consequence of this a matter of small moment, and, to make the peculiarity of the animal especially remarkable, it is said to abstain, during several weeks of the nursing period, from seeking food for itself and for the young offspring that would generally be supposed to drain its vitality. Such is the seal and such are the habits, especially of the females, as seen and described by the British Commissioners. The expression of an opinion so directly in conflict with those gen- erally received would seem to require the most cogent proofs. Reliable authorities should be cited and their names given. Hazardous conjec- tures should be wisely laid aside; ignorant, hasty, and prejudiced gos- sip should be treated as it deserves, and some effort made to reconcile individual observation with generally accepted and accredited facts. The counsel for the United States have no hesitation in saying that if the question to be decided were one in which the common-law rules of evidence prevalent in both parties to the Treaty were applied, they would respectfully insist, with much confidence, that there is no dispute really as to the main facts in this case. A controversy as to facts in the juridical sense implies an assertion on the one side and a contra- diction on the other; but contradictions can not be predicated on state- ments unauthenticated by proof and unsupported by general experience. It would suffice to show that the Report of the Commissioners from Great Britain simply presents the assertions and conjectures of gentle- men who, however respectable their character may be, were not called upon to express, and are not justified in laying down conclusions, except in so far as they have reached them by an examination into actual facts, the sources of which both Governments would be entitled to consider. Justice to the disputants, as well as a proper respect for the Tribunal, would seem to dictate this necessity of avoiding therash expression of conjectures generally unsupported, but occasionally founded on other 232 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. like conjectures emanating from ignorance and hasty observers whose names are not infrequently withheld. It may, however, facilitate the learned Arbitrators in inquiries into the facts referred to, to indicate the nature of the evidence bearing upon the different points respectively and the places where it may be found. It is believed that nothing more is requisite. Of matters not in any manner drawn in question, little or no notice will be taken. II.—Tut DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ALASKAN AND THE RUSSIAN FUR-SEALS. The marked differences between the Alaskan and the Russian.seals are such as to be plainly and readily discernible to persons familiar with the two herds and their characteristics.. This once established would naturally prove that there is no commingling of the respective herds. But we are not left to inference upon this point, and may con- fidently claim that the proposition is affirmatively established by testi- mony respectable and creditable in itself, while it is wholly uncontra- dicted by proof. This is the statement in the Case of the United States: The two great herds of fur-seals which frequent the Bering Sea and North Pacifie Ocean and make their homes on the Pribilof Islands and Commander (Komandorski) Islands, respectively, are entirely distinct from each other. The difference between the two herds is so marked that an expert in handling and sorting seal skins can invariably dis- tinguish an Alaskan skin from a Commander skin. In support of this we have abundant and most respectable testimony. wr. Walter KE. Martin, head of the London firm of C. W. Martin & Co., which has been for many years engaged in dressing and dyeing seal skins, de- seribes the difference as follows: ‘¢The Copper Island (one of the Com- mander Islands) skins show that the animal is narrower in the neck and at the tail than the Alaska seal and the fur is shorter, particularly under the flippers, and the hair has a yellower tinge than the hairs of the Alaska seals.” In this statement he is borne out by Snigeroff, a native chief on the Commander Islands and once resident on the Pribilof Islands. C. W. Price, for twenty years a dresser and examiner of raw seal- skins, describes the difference in the fur as being a little darker in the Commander skin. The latter skin is not so porous as the Alaskan skin, and is more difficult to unhair. The difference between the two classes of skins has been further recognized by those engaged in the seal-skin industry in their different market value, the Alaska skins always being held from 20 to 30 per cent more than the ‘Coppers” or Commander skins. This difference in value a also been recognized by the Russian Government. SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 233 (A) THE HERDS ARE DIFFERENT, Mr. George Bantle (p. 508, Appendix to Case of the United States, Vol. II), one of the witnesses upon this point, is a packer and sorter of raw fur-kins. He had been in that business, at the time of testifying, twenty years, and had handled many thousands of skins. He says: IT can tell by examining a skin whether it was caught in season or out of season, and whether it was caught on the Russian side or on the Ameri- can side. A Russian skin is generally coarser, and the under wool is generally darker and coarser, than the skins of seals caught on the American side. A Russian skin does not make as fine a skin as the skins of the seals caught on the American side, and are not worth as much in the market. i can easily distinguish one from the other, Mr. H. S. Bevington, M. A. (ibid., p. 551), a subject of Her Britannic Majesty, forty years of age, the head of the firm of Bevington & Mor- ris, 28 Common street, in the city of London, was sworn and testified upon the subject. His testimony is interesting, and may be found at page 550, Volume uy, of the Appendix to United States Case. Upon the subject of the variations observable, he says: That the differences between the three several sorts of skins last mentioned are so marked as to enable any person skilled in the busi- ness or accustomed to handle the same to readily distinguish theskins of one catch from those of another, especially in bulk, and itis the fact that when they reach the market the skins of each class come separ- ately and are not found mingled with those belonging to the other classes. he skins of the Copper Island catch are distinguished from the skins of the Alaska and Northwest catch, which two last-mentioned classes of skins appear to be nearly allied to each other and are of the same general character, by reason of the fact that in their raw state the Copper skins are lighter in color than either of the other two, and in the dyed state there is a marked difference in the appearance of the fur of the Copper and the other two classes of skins. This difference is difficult to describe to a person unaccustomed to handle skins, but it is nevertheless clear and distinct to an expert, and may be generally de- scribed by saying that the Copper skins are of a close, short and shiny fur, particularly down by the flank, to a greater extent that the Alaska and Northwest skins. Joseph Stanley-Brown (ibid., p. 12) a geologist of distinction, resid- ing at Mentor, Ohio, was commissioned by the Secretary of the Treas- ury to visit the Pribilof Islands for the purpose of studying the seal life found thereon; he spent one hundred and thirty days in actual inves- tigation and study of the subject. While he does not claim to have become an expert in that time as to the various and distinguishing 234 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, veharacteristics of the animals, he stated the result of his efforts to ascertain the truth in this respect: T learned that fur-seals of the species Callorhinus ursinus do breed and haul out at the Commander Islands and “‘ Robben Reef,” but the statements made to me were unanimous that they are a separate herd, the pe’ of which is readily distinguished from that of the Pribilof herd, and that the two herds do not intermingle. Isaac Liebes, a fur merchant of twenty-three years standing, residing at San Francisco, claims to have handled more raw fur-seal skins than any other individual in the United States or Canada and more than any firm or corporation except the lessees of the sealeries of the Pribilof and Commander Islands. His whole deposition, based as it is upon long practice and experience, may be read with profit. On the subject of the Cifferences between the skins of animals belonging to the re- spective herds, he says: (ibid., p. 445.) The seals to which I have reference are known to myself and to the trade as the Northwest Coast seals, sometimes called “ Victorias.” This herd belongs solely to the Pribilof Islands, and is easily distinguish- able by the fur from the fur-seals of the other northern rookeries, and still easier from those of the south. All expert sealskin assorters are able to tell one from the other of either of these different herds. Each has its own characteristics and values. To the same effect is the deposition of Sidney Liebes, a fur dealer of San Francisco. He had been engaged in the fur business for the last six years, at the time of testifying. He testified in substance, as did the other witnesses, as follows (ibid., p. 516): My ageis 22. Ireside in San Francisco, and am by occupation a furrier, having been engaged in that business for the last six years. I have made it my business to examine raw seal-skins brought to this city for sale, and am familiar with the different kinds of seal-skins in the market. I can tell from an examination of a skin whether it has been caught on the Russian or American side. I have found that the Russian skins were flat and smaller, and somewhat different in color in the under wool], than those caught on the American side. In my opinion they are of an inferior quality. The Alaska skins are larger and the hair is much finer. The color of the under wool is also differ- ent. Ihave no difficulty in distinguishing one skin from the other. 1 am of opinion that they belong to an entirely separate and distinet herd. In my examination of skins offered for sale by sealing schooners I found that over 90 per cent were skins taken from females. The sides of the female skins are swollen, and are wider on the belly than those of males. The teats are very discernible on the females, and it can be plainly seen where the young have been suckling. The head of the female is also much narrower. SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 235 Mr. Thomas F. Morgan was the agent, in 1891, of the Russian Sealskin Company of Petersburg. Prior to that time he had been engaged in seal fishing; he resided several years, as agent of the Alaska Commer- cial Company, on the Pribilof Islands. His long and varied experience fitted him in an especial manner to testify intelligently on the subject. He says (ibid., p. 61): The Alaska fur-seal breeds, I am thoroughly convinced, only upon the Pribilof Islands; that I have been on the Alaska coast and also along the Aleutian Islands; that at no points have I ever observed seals haul out on land except at the Pribilof Islands, nor have I been able to obtain any authentic information which causes me to believe such is the case. The Alaska fur-seal is migratory, leaving the Pribilof Islands in the early winter, going southward into the Pacific and returning again in May, June, and July to said islands. I have observed certain bull seals return year after year to the same place on the rookeries, and I have been informed by natives that have lived on the islands that this is a well-known fact and has been observed by them so often that they stated it as an absolute fact. It is also interesting to note, from his supplemental sworn statement, that the British Commissioners had some testimony to show that there was no identity between the herds (ibid., p. 201): I was on the Bering Island at the same time that Sir George Baden- Powell and Dr. George M. Dawson, the British representatives ot the Bering Sea Joint Commission, were upon said island investigating the Russian sealeries upon the Komandorski Islands; that I was present at an examination, which said Commissioners held, of Sniegeroff, the chief of the natives on the Bering Island, who, prior to the cession of the Pribilof Islands by Russia to the United States, had resided on St. Paul, one of the said Pribilof Islands, and that since that time had been a resident on said Bering Island, and during the latter part of said residence had occupied the position of native chief, and as such, superiatended the taking and killing of fur-seals on said Bering Island; that during said examination the Commissioners, through au interpreter, asked said Sniegeroff if there was any ditference between the seals found on the Pribilof Islands and the seals found on the - Komandorski Islands; that said Sniegeroff at once replied that there was a difference, and on further questioning stated that such difference consisted in the fact that the Komandorski Island seals were a slimmer animal in the neck and flank than the Pribilof Island seals; and fur- ther, that both hair and fur of the Komandorski Island seal were longer than the Pribilof Island seal; said Commissioners asked said Sniegeroff the further question whetl er he believed that the Pribilof herd and Komandorski herd ever mingled, and he replied that he did not. Mr. John N. Lofstad (ibid., p. 516,) a fur merchant of San Francisco, testifies that he can easily distinguish the Copper Island seal in its 236 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. undressed state from that of the Alaskan and Northwest Coast skins. They are of an entirely distinct and separate herd, while those of the Northwest Coast and Pribilof Islands are of the same variety. He Says: I have been in the business for twenty-eight years during which time IT have bought large numbers of dressed and undressed fur skins, and Iam thoroughly familiar with the business. I can easily distinguish the Copper Island fur-seal skin in its undressed state from that of the Alaskan and Northwest Coast skins. They are of an entirely distinet and separate herd, while those of the Northwest Coast and Pribilof Is- lands are of the same variety. To the same effect Mr. Gustave Niebaum (ibid., p.78), Mr. Niebaum’s experience was such as to entitle him to speak as an expert. His opportunities to inform himself thoroughly on all matters connected with sealeries were of the best, and at the same time he had no interest whatever in the sealeries or the seal-skin trade. He is a native of Fin- land and became an American citizen by the transfer of Alaska to the United States. He was vice-consul of Russia at San Francisco from 1880 to 1891. He says: I was formerly, as I have stated, interested in the Commander seal islands, as well as those of Alaska. The two herds are separate and distinct, the fur being of different quality and appearance. The two classes of skins have always been held at different values in the London market, the Alaskan bringing invariably a higher price than the Siberian of the same weight and size of skins. I think each herd keeps upon its own feeding grounds along the respective coasts they inhabit. Tt may be unnecessary—as it would certainly be monotonous—to multiply citations. Other witnesses, however, testify to the same effect. The American Commissioncrs have given their names and addresses, as well as their sworn statements. ‘The Arbitrators will, therefore, be enabled to determine whether or not the evidence is, as we claim that it is, absolutely conclusive. In a court of law, such a concensus of opinion and statement made under the sanction of an oath and uncon- tradicted, save by more or less ingenious but unsustained conjecture, would satisfy the judgment of the most exacting judge. Other depo- sitious equally important may be quoted in addition to the above. Mr. Walter K. Martin (ibid., p. 569), was, at the time of giving his testimony, a subject of Her Majesty, residing at the city of St. Albans, He had been engaged, on a very large scale, in the business of dress- SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. | Zod ing and dyeing sealskins. He says that if one thousand Copper Island skins were mingled among ninety-nine thousand Alaska skins, it would be possible for any one skilled in the business to extract nine hundred and fifty of the Copper Island skins and to separate them from the ninety-nine thousand and fifty of the Alaska catch, and vice versa. Mr. N. B. Miller (ibid., p. 199). Mr. Miller was at the time of testi- fying an assistant in thescientific department of the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross. He had made five cruises in Alaskan waters; he says: The seals of the Commander Islands are grayer in color and ofa slighter build throughout the body. The bulls have not such heavy manes or fur capes, the hair on the shoulders being much shorter and not nearly so thick. The younger seals have longer and more slender necks apparently. I noticed this difference between the seals at once. Mr. John J. Phelan (ibid., p. 518) was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Albany, N. Y. He was 35 years of age at the time of giving his deposition, and since the-age of eleven had been in the fur business. His practical and active experience was very large during those twenty-three years. He had noticed the difference in the seals, both in their raw state and during the processes of dressing. He explained minutely the point of difference. Mr. Henry Poland (ibid., p. 570) was a subject of Her Majesty and the head of the firm of P. R. Poland & Son, doing business at 110 Queen Victoria street, in the city of London. The firm of which he was a member had been engaged in the business of furs and skins for upwards of one hundred years, having been founded by his great- grandfather in the year 1785. His judgment, evidently, is entitled to great respect. He corroborates the other witnesses, and says that the three classes of skins are easily distinguishable from each other by any person skilled in the business. He had personally handled the sam- ples of the skins dealt in by his firm, and would bave no difficulty in distinguishing them. In fact, the skins of each of the three classes have different values and command different prices in the market. Mr. Charles W. Price (ibid., p. 521) is a very expert examiner of raw fur-skins, of San Francisco. He had been engaged in the business twenty years when he was examined by the Commissioners of the United States; he had had a large practical experience. He gives the points of difference between the Russian and American skins, and states, as did Mr, Poland and other witnesses, that the seals on the Russian 238 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. side are a distinct and different herd from those on the American side, and are not as valuable. Mr. George Rice (ibid., p. 572) is another witness whose testimony should command respect. He was fifty years of age and a subject of Her Majesty. He had been engaged actively in the business handling fur-seal skins for twenty-seven years and had acquired a general and detailed knowledge of the different kinds of fur-seal skins and of the differences which distinguish them, as well as the history, character, and manner of conducting the fur-seal sealskin business in the city of London. He says that the differences between the several classes of skins are very marked, which enable anybody who is skilled in the business to distinguish the skins of one class from the skins which belong to either of the other classes. He also stated, as did the other experts, that these differences are evidenced by the fact that the skins obtain different prices in the market. The testimony of this gen- tleman deserves special attention; it is intelligently given and is very instructive. Mr. Leon Sloss (ibid., p. 90) is a native of California and a resi- dent of San Francisco. He was for several years a director of the Alaska Commercial Company, and a member of the partnership of Louis Sloss & Co., and had been engaged for fifteen years in dealing in wools, hides, and fur-skins. At the time of testifying, he had no interest in seals or sealeries. He had been superintendent of the Alaska sealeries pro tempore from 1882 to 1885, inclusive, and spent the sealing season of those three years on the Pribilof Islands in the personal management of the business. He became acquainted, as he testifies, with every aspect of the business. All advices from the Lon- don agents and information in regard to the sealskin market, from all sources, passed through his hands, and instructions to agents of the company in regard to the classes of skins desired emanated from time to time from him. He was emphatic in his statement that the difference between the Northern and Southern skins that came to the port of San Francisco could be detected at once. While it was not as easy to dis- tinguish the Alaskan from the Asiatic skins, experts in handling them do it with wnerring accuracy. Mr. William C. B. Stamp (ibid., p. 574) was 51 years of age at the time of testifying, and a subject of Her Majesty. He was engaged in the business at 38 Knightrider street, London, EB. C., as a fur-skin merchant. He had been engaged in that business for over thirty SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 239 years and had personally handled many thousand of fur-seal skins, besides inspecting samples at practically every sale of fur skins made in London during the whole of the time he had been in business, He had thus acquired a general and detailed knowledge of the history of the business and of the character and differences which distinguish the several kinds of skins onthe market. He stated it as his judgment that the skins of the several catches are readily distinguishable from each other, and the skins of the different sexes may be as readily dis- tinguished as the skins of the different sexes of any other animal. He added that the difference between the skins of the three catches are so marked that they have always been expressed in the different prices obtained for the skins. He instances the sales on the list, which were as follows: For the Alaska skins, 125 shillings per skin; for the Copper skins, 68 shillings per skin; and for the Northwest, 53 shillings per skin. Emil Teichmann (ibid., p. 576), was by birth a subject of the King- dom of Wurtemburg, and had become a naturalized citizen of Her Majesty from the time of reaching his manhood. He was 46 years of age at the time of testifying. He had been engaged in the fur business since 1868, and had resided in England and done business in London. From 1873 to 1880, he had been a member of the firm of Martin & Teichmann, who were then, as its successors C. W. Martin & Son still are, the largest dressers and dryers of sealskins in the world, He had personally handled many hundreds of thousands of fur-seal skins and claimed to be, as weil he might, an expert on the subject of the various kinds of such skins. His testimony is minute and gives de- tails as to the peculiarities which distinguish the skins. He states that all those differences are so marked as to enable any expert readily to distinguish Copper from Alaska skins, or vice versa, although he adds that in the case of very young animals the differences are much less marked than in the case of adults. George H. Treadwell (ibid., p. 523), at the time of testifying, was 55 fyears of age. He was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Albany County, in the State of New York. His father, George C. Treadwell, in 1832, started a wholesale fur business of a general character, and his son, the witness, became associated with him in 1858, and upon his death, which occurred in 1885, he succeeded to the business. That business is now conducted under the name of The George C. Treadwell Company, a corporation formed under the 240 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. laws of the State of New Jersey, of which corporation the deponent is president. He entirely agrees with what Mr. Phelan says concerning his experience in the handling and dressing of skins, and from what he knows of his character and ability he believes that everything stated by him in his affidavit is correct. Henry Treadwell (ibid., p. 524), at the time of testifying, was 70 years of age and resided in the city of Brooklyn, in the State of New York. He was a member of the firm of Treadwell & Company, which had been dealing in furs since 1832; they bought, dressed and dyed annually from 5,000 to 8,000 skins. Mr. Treadwell was very emphatic in his statement that the skins of the three catches are readily distinguish- able. He stated that he would be able, himself, on an examination of the skins as they are taken from the barrels, to detect at once in a barrel of Alaska skins the skins of either the Copper or the northwest- ern catch. William H. Williams (ibid., p. 93) is a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellington, Ohio, and was at the time of testifying the United States Treasury Agent in the charge of the seal islands in Bering Sea. As such and in pursuance of Department instructions, he made a careful examination of the habits and conditions of the seals and seal rookeries, with a view of reporting to the Department his observations. He says, agreeing in this with the numerous other witnesses whose testimony is above given, that the skins of the three catches are readily distinguishable from each other. He also states that the differences are clearly evinced in the prices which have always been obtained for the sealskins of the three catches. For in- stance, the skins of the Alaska catch were then commanding 20 or 30 per cent better prices than the skins of the Copper catch. This differ- ence is also recognized by the Russian Government, who leased the privilege of catching upon the Commander Islands upon terms 25 per cent Jess than the terms of the United States for the leased catch upon the Pribilof Islands. Mr. Maurice Windmiller (ibid., p. 550) was a furrier doing business in San Francisco, in which business he had been engaged all his life, his father having been a furrier before him. He was 46 years of age and claimed to be an expert in dressed and undressed, raw and made- up furs, aud a manufacturer and dealer in the same. He was also of opinion that the Russian seal belonged to an entirely different herd from those of the American side, and testified that their skins had such peculiar characteristics that it was not difficult to separate them, SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 241 (B) THE ALASKAN DOES NOT MINGLE WITH THE RUSSIAN HERD. The statement in the Case (p. 99) is in the following words: The Commander Islands herd is evidently distinct and separate from the Pribilof Islands herd. Its home isthe Commander group of islands on the western side of Bering Sea, and its line of migration is west- ward and southward along the Asiatic coast. To suppose that the two herds mingle and that the same animal may at one time be a member of one herd and at another time of the other is contrary to what is known of the habit of migrating animals in general. This statement is based on the report of the American Commissioners (page 323 of the Case of the United States), which report states the conclusion reached by them in the following language: The fur-seals of the Pribilof Islands do not mix with those of the Commander and Kurile Islands at any time of the year. In summer, the two herds remain entirely distinct, separated by a water interval of several hundred miles, and in their winter migrations those from the Pribilof Islands follow the American coast in a southeasterly di- rection, while those from the Commander and Kurile Islands follow the Siberian and Japan coasts in a southwesterly direction, the two herds being separated in winter by a water interval of several thousand miles. This regularity in the different herds is in obedience to the well-known law that migratory animals follow definite routes in migration and return year after year to the same places to breed. Were it not for this law, there would be no such thing as stability of species, for interbreeding and existence under diverse physiographic conditions would destroy all specific characters. The testimony in support of this proposition seems to be conclusive and certainly must stand until the learned counsel for the Government of Her Majesty succeed in producing the evidence of witnesses who are able and willing to express a different view. It can not be expected that the witnesses shall speak in the same positive and unqualified manner upon this matter, which, to some ex- tent, must be predicated upon conclusions drawn from facts, as they would and do upon the actual and observable differences between the two families of seals. But it will be found that the testimony is the best obtainable under the circumstances and can leave no reasonable doubt in the minds of impartial persons that the two herds are distinct, that they follow definite routes in migration, and that they return year after year to the same place to breed and never intermingle, Mr. John G. Blair (Appendix to Case of the United States, Vol. IT, p. 193) was at the time of deposing an American citizen, 57 years ot age, and had been for fourteen years previous and until recently master 1474916 242 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. of the schooner Leon, then employed by the Russian Sealskin Com- pany. He had been constantly engaged in the fur-sealing industry and was familiar with the habits of these animals, both on the land aud in the water. He was in charge of and attended to the killing of seals on Robben Island for the lessees from 1878 to 1885, taking from 1,000 to 4,000 seals per annum. With the exception of two years, when he was sealing on the Commander Islands, he had visited Rob- ben Island every year from 1878 to 1885. His testimony upon this point is as follows: Iamtold and believe that the Robben Island seals can be distinguished by experts from those on the Commander Islands, and am satisfied that they do not mingle with them and are a separate and distinct herd. They remain on and about the islands in large numbers until late in the fall. I have been accustomed to leave in October or early November, and seals were always plentiful at that time. Lam ofopinion that they do not migrate to any great distance from the island during the winter, A few hundred young pups are caught every winter by the Japanese in nets off the north end of Yesso Island. I have made thirty-two voyages between the Aleutian Archipelago and the Commander Islands, but have never seen seals between about longitude 170 west and 165 east. Lam satisfied that Alaska seals do not mix with those of Siberia. I have seen seals in winter and known of their being caught upon the Asiatic side as far south as 36 north latitude. William H. Brennan (ibid., p. 358): Mr. Brennan,at the time of testify- ing, resided at Seattle, in the State of Washington. He was an English subject by birth and had spent the best part of his life in the close study of the inhabitants of the sea, including seals and the modes of capturing them. He had passed his examination as second mate in London in 1874, and had been to Australia, China, and Japan. In the last country he had remained several years. Since that time he has followed the sea as sailing captain, pilot, and quartermaster on vesseis sailing out of Victoria, British Columbia. He testified as follows: In my opinion, fur-seals born on the Copper, Bering, or Robben islands will naturally return to the rookery at which they were born. The same thing is true of those born on the St. Paul or St. George islands. No vessel, to my knowledge, has ever met a band of seals in midocean in the North Pacific. I have crossed said water on three different occasions, and each time kept a close lookout for them. The greater part of the seals that we find in the North Pacific Ocean are born on the islands in Bering Sea. Most of them leave there in Octo- ber and November. C. H. Anderson (ibid., p. 205): Mr. Anderson was a master mariner by occupation, residingin San Francisco, and had been sailing in Alaskan waters since 1880. He says: SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 243 1 think the Commander Islands seals are a different body of seals altogether from those of the Pribilofs, and that the two herds never mingle. I think the Commander Islands herd goes to the southward and westward toward the Japanese coast. I never knew of fur-seals hauling out to rest or breed at any place in the Aleutian chain, or anywhere, in fact, except the well-known rookeries of the several seal islands of Bering Sea. Charles Bryant (ibid., p.4): Mr. Bryant, at the time of testifying, was 72 years of age and had resided in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. From 1840 to 1858 he had been engaged in whaling in the North Pacific Ocean or Bering Sea. During the latter portion of the time he commanded a whaling vessel. In 1868 he was appointed as Special Treasury Agent to go to the Pribilof Islands to investigate and to report as to the habits of the fur-seal, the conditions of the islands and the most advantageous plan to adopt for the government and manage- ment of the same. He remained on St. Paul Island from March, 1869, to September of that year. He returned July, 1870, and remained until the fall of 1871. Then in April, in 1872, he again arrived on St. Paul Island as Special Agent of the Treasury Departinent in charge of the seal islands, and he spent there the sealing seasons from 1872 to 1877, inclusive, and three winters, namely, 1872, 1874, and 1876, since which time he has lived in retirement at Mattapoisett, Plymouth county, Massachusetts. His testimony upon this point is as follows: The Alaska fur-seal breeds nowhere except on the islands. I took par- ticular care in investigating the question of what became of the seal herd while absent from the islands. My inquiries were made among the Alaskan Indians, half-breeds, Aleuts, and fur-traders along the Northwest Coast and Aleutian Islands. One man, who had been a trapper for many years along the coast, stated to me that in all his experience he never knew of but one case where seals had hauled out on the Pacific coast, and that was when four or five landed on Queen Charlotte Island. This is the only case I ever heard of seals coming ashore at any other place on the American side of the Pacific, except the Pribilof Islands. These seals are migratory, leaving the islands in the early winter and returning again in the spring. The Pribilof herd does not mingle with the herd located on the Commander Island. This 1 know from the tact that the herd goes eastward after entering the Pacific Ocean, and from questioning natives and half-breeds, who have resided in Kamschatka as employes of the Russian Fur Company, J learned that the Commander herd op leaving their island ge south- westward into the Okhotsk Sea and the waters to the southward of it and winter there. This fact was further verified by whalers who find them there in the early spring. The Alaskan seals make their home on the Pribilof Islands because they need for the period they spend on land a peculiarly cool, moist, and cloudy climate, with very little sunshine or heavy rains. This pe- culiarity of climate is only to be found on the Pribilof and Commander 244 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. = islands, and during my long experience in the North Pacific and Ber- ing Sea I never found another locality which possessed these condi- tions so favorable to seal life. Add to this fact the isolated condition of the seal islands and we can readily see why the seal selected this home. Myr. Alfred Fraser (ibid., pp. 554, 558) is another witness to whose testimony exceptional importance should be attached. He was of opinion that the herds from which skins are obtained do not in fact intermingle with each other, because the skins classified under the head of Copper catch are not found among the consignment of skins received from the Alaska catch, and vice versa. His testimony is quoted at some length, and is as follows: That he is a subject of Her Britannic Majesty and is 52 years of age and resides in the city of Brooklyn, in the State of New York. That he is a member of the firm of C. M, Lampson & Co., of London, and has been a member of said firm for about thirteen years; prior to that time he was in the employ of said firm and took an active part in the management of the business of said firm in London. That the business of ©. M. Lampson & Co. is that of merchants, engaged princi- pally in the business of selling skins on commission. That for about twenty-four years the firm of C.M. Lampson & Co. have sold the great majority of the whole number of sealskins sold in all the markets of the world. That while he was engaged in the management of the business of said firm in London, he had personal knowledge of the character of the various sealskins sold by the said firm, from his per- sonal inspection of the same in their warehouse and from the physical handling of the same by him. That many hundred thousands of the skins sold by ©. M. Lampson & Co. have physically passed through his hands; and that since his residence in this country he has, as a mem- ber of said firm, had a general and detailed knowledge of the character and extent of the business of said firm, although since his residence in the city of New York he has not physically haudled the skins dis- posed of by his firm, ie a ® a e os 8 Deponent is further of the opinion, from his long observation and handling of the skins of the several catches, that the skins of the Alaska and Copper catches are readily distinguishable from each other, and that the herds from which such skins are obtained do not in fact inter- mingle with each other because the skins classified under the head of Copper catch are not found among the consignments of skins received from the Alaska catch, and vice versa, Deponent further says that the distinction between the skins of the several catches is so marked that in his judgment he would, for instance, have had no difficulty, had there been included among 100,000 skins in the Alaska catch 1,000 skins of the Copper catch, in distinguishing the 1,000 Copper skins and separating them from the 99,000 Alaska skins, or that any other person with equal or Jess experience in the handling of skins would be equally able to distinguish them. And in the same way deponent thinks, from his own personal experience in handling skins, that he would have no difficulty whatever in separating the skins SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 245 of the Northwest catch from the skins of the Alaska catch by reason of the fact that they are the skins almost exclusively of females, and also that the fur upon the bearing female seals is much thinner than upon the skin of the male seals, the skin of the animal while pregnant being extended and the fur extended over a large area. Charles J. Hague (ibid., p. 207): Capt. Hague is a citizen of the United States and a master mariner by occupation. He had cruised steadily in Alaskan waters since the year 1878. He had sailed principally about the various parts of the Aleutian Islands, as far west as Attu, to which island he had made about twenty trips from Unalaska, principally in the spring and fall of the year. This is his testimony upon the point now under consideration: The main body of the fur-seal herd bound to and from the Pribilof Islands move through the passes of the Fox Islands, Unimak on the east and the West Pass of Unmak on the west, being the limits between which they enter Behring Sea in anynumber. I do not know through what passes the different categories move or the times of their move- ments. Rarely see fur-seals in the Pacific between San Francisco and the iminediate vicinity of the passes. I think the fur->eal herds of the. Commander and Pribilof Islands are separate bodies of the fur-seal species, whose numbers do not mingle with each other. In the latter part of September, 1867, in the brig Kentucky, making passage between Petropaulowski and Kodiak, I observed the Commander Islands seal herd on its way from the rookeries. They moved in a compact mass or school, after the manner of herring, and were making a westerly course towards the Kurile Islands. The seals which I have observed on their way to the Pribilof Islands do not move in large schools; they struggle along a few at a time in a sort of a stream and are often seen sleeping in the water and playing. There are no fur-seal rookeries in the Aleu- tian Islands that [ know of; in fact, I have never heard of any in the region besides those on the several well-known Seal Islands of Bering Sea, H. Harmsen (ibid., p. 442): Capt. Harmsen had been the master of a ship since 1880 and engaged in the business of hunting seals in the Pacific and Bering Sea since 1877. The following is an abstract from his testimony: Q. In your opinion, do the seals on the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side or are they a separate herd?—A. No, sir; they do not come over this way. They are not a diiferent breed, but they keep over by themselves; at least I don’t think so. They follow their own stream along there. There is so much water there where there are seals, and so much where there are not. They are by them- selves. Samuel Kahoorof (ibid., p. 214): Kahoorof is a native of Attu Island, 52 years of age, and a hunter of the sea otter and blue fox. He had lived 246 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. in the same place all his life. We extract that part of his testimony which bears upon the question now under immediate consideration: Have seen only three fur-seals in this region in twenty years. Saw them in May, 1890, traveling along the north sideof Attu Island, about 5 miles off shore, and making a northwesterly course. They were young tae I think. Fur-seals do not regularly visit these islands how, but about twenty-five or thirty years ago Lused to see small squads of large seals during the month of June feeding and sleeping about the kelp patches off the eastern shores of Attu and Agattu Islands. They came from the southward and traveled in a northwesterly direction. Never saw any fur-seals east of the Semichi [slands and do not think that those of the C ommander Islands herd go farther to the eastward than that. They decreased in numbers gradually, and during the last twenty years I have only seen the three above mentioned. Have never seen a nursing or mother cow or black or gray pup in this region, and do not think they ever visit it. John Malowansky (ibid., p. 198): Mr. Malowansky is a resident of San Francisco, an American citizen, but a Russian by birth. He was, at the time of testifying, a merchant by profession and an agent for the Rus- sian Sealskin Company. Heresided on the Commander Islands in 1869, 1870, and 1871, and was then engaged in the sealing business. He was there again in 1887, as agent of the company. He formerly lived in Kamtchatka and frequently visited the Commander Islands between 1871 and 1887. He was an expert in all matters relating to the fur-seal trade, especially on the Russian side of the Bering Sea. The follow- ing is an extract from his testimony: The seals of the Commander Islands are of a different variety from those of the Pribilofs. The fur is not so thick and bright and is of a somewhat inferior quality. They form a distinct herd from that of St. Paul and St. George, and in my opinion the two do not intermingle. 1 was present as interpreter when the English Commissioners were taking testimony on Bering Island. They examined among others, when I was present, Jefim Snigeroff, Chief of Bering Island, he being the person selected by them there from which to procure the testimony relating to the habits and killing of seals. This Snigeroff testified that he had lived on the Pribiloft tslands for many years and knew the distinctive characteristics of both herds (Commander and Pribilof} and their habits and that he removed from thence to Bering Island. He pointed out that the two herds have several different characteristics and stated that im his belief they do not intermingle. Filaret Prekopief (ibid., p. 216): Prokopief is a native of Attu Island, 23 years of age, and the agent and storekeeper at that place of the Alaska Commercial Company. His occupation was that of hunter for sea-otter and fox, but never for fur-seal. This occupation he pursued until the time when he was made agent. His hunting ground was Attu, Agattu, and the Semichi Islands. This is his testimony: SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 247 I never saw but one fur-seal in the water. It was a young male which was killed in this bay in September, 1884. [I do not know of any fur-seal rookery or other places where fur-seals haul out on the land to breed or rest in the Aleutian Islands, nor where the old bull fur-seals spend the winter. I do not know at what time or by what routes the seal herds move to and trom the Bering Sea; have heard old hunters say the Commander Islands herd used to pass close to the western shores of these islands on their way north. Eliah Prokopief (ibid., p. 215) is a native of Amchitka Island of the Aleutian chain; 52 years of age; had been a hunter all his life, but had - never hunted or killed a fur-seal. His hunting ground was about Attu, Agattu, and the Semichi Islands. His testimony is as follows: Fur-seals do not regularly frequent these regions, and I have seen none but a few scattering ones in twenty years. Thirty years ago, when the Russians controlled these islands, I used to see a few medium- sized fur-seals, one or two at a time, in the summer, generally in June, traveling to the northwest, and bound, I think, for the Commander Islands. The farthest east I have ever seen them was about 30 miles east of the Semichi Islands; do notthink those going to the Commander Islands ever go farther east than that. Those most seen in former times were generally feeding and sleeping about the kelp patches be- tween Attu and Agattu, and the Semichi Islands, where the mackerel abounds. They decreased in numbers constantly, and now are only seen on very rare occasions. Have seen but half a dozen in the last twenty years; they were large seals—bulls, I judged from their size— traveling to the northwest, about 30 miles east of the Semichi Islands. Tbis was in May, 1888. Have never seen any pups, black or gray, or nursing female seals in this region, and do not think they ever visit it. Do not know of any rookeries in the Aleutian Islands, nor any places where fur-seals haul out regularly on the land or kelp to breed or rest except the Russian and American seal islands of Bering Sea. Do not know where the old bull fur-seals spend the winter, nor what route the fur-seal herds take to and from the Commander and Pribilof islands, nor at what times the herds pass to and from. Am quite sure the herds do not come near enough together to mingle in these regions. Have never known of fur-seals being seen between Amchitka and a point 30 miles east of the Semichi Islands. Do not think there are now as many fur-seals as there were thirty years ago, but do not know the cause of the decrease. Sealing schooners do not regularly visit these islands. Last August (1891) three of them came in here to get water, but only stayed afew hours each; they had been to the Commander Islands and were going south. Gustave Niebaum (ibid., p. 202): The testimony of Mr. Niebaum has been cited above and his qualifications given. Upon the subject of the alleged or possible commingling of the different herds, he says (ibid., p. 204): T am satisfied that the seal herds respectively upon the Pribilof group, the Commander Islands and Robben Bank, have each their 248 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. own distinctive feeding grounds and peculiar grounds of migration. No doubt they are of the same species, but there is a marked differ- ence in the fur of the skins from the respective places, which can be distinguished by experts. C. A. Williams (ibid., p.535): Mr. Williams is a citizen of the United States, a resident of the city of New London, in the State of Connec- ticut, and was at the time of testifying 63 years of age. He had been largely engaged for a period of upwards of forty years in the whaling and sealing business, in which he had employed upward of twenty-five vessels. He says that there is no intermingling of the herds. The testimony of Alexander McLean (ibid., p. 436) is to the same effect. Mr. McLean is a master mariner and had been engaged for ten years, at the time of making his deposition, in the business of hunting seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea. To the like effect is the testimony of Daniel McLean (ibid., p. 443). He, too, is a master mariner, and is of opinion that the Russian and Alaskan herds are different herds of seals altogether. His testimony is as follows: Q. In your opinion, do the seals on the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side? A. No, sir; I do not think so. They are different seals in my opinion. It is only just to add that the British Commissioners virtually make the admission that these herds are separate and distinct, although the inference may be drawn, from some of their statements, leading to a contrary conclusion, when the practical question arises in connection with an appreciable difference in the value of skins. Thus, for instance, the suggestion is made of a probability in the future, in a course of years, that a continued “harassing” of one group might result in a corresponding gradual accession to the other, by which it is no doubt intended to convey the idea that unless the kill- ing on the Pribilof Islands is discontinued the seals will migrate and adopt a Russian domicile (See. 453). But the same paragraph admits that “the fur-seals of the two sides of the North Pacific belong in the main to practically distinct migra- tion tracts.” They add that it is not believed that any voluntary or systematic movement of fur-seals takes place from one group of breed- ing islands to the other (See. 453). See also section 198 of British Com- missioners’ report, that “while there is every reason to believe that the seals become more or less commingled in Behring Sea during the sum- SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 249 mer [a purely gratuitous assumption], the migration routes of the two sides of the North Pacitic are essentially distinct.” (See also Sees. 170, 198, 216, 220.) Without any evidence, then, on the side of the United States, it might be asserted, on the Report of the British Commissioners alone, that any intermingling of the two herds is abnormal and exceptional, although these gentlemen are inclined to think that in the remote future this separation may disappear. (C) THE ALASKAN FUR-SEALS HAVE BUT ONE HOME, NAMELY, THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. THEY NEVER LEAVE THIS HOME WITHOUT THE ANIMUM REVERTENDI, AND ARE NEVER SEEN ASHORE EXCEPT ON THOSE ISLANDS. The testimony as to this fact is uncontradicted except by the curious and utterly unsupported statement of the British Commissioners that the animals actually enjoy and occupy two homes; that is, they have a winter domicile, which is not given, except by a vague and general designation (British Commissioners’ Report, Sec. 27), and a summer place of resort, which is the Pribilof Islands. There is no pretense that they ever land elsewhere. The force of this original suggestion of a double residence would be much increased if the slightest indication were given to enable us to test the accuracy and to aid the Commis- sioners in satisfying the world of scientists that a grave error has heretofore been committed and continuously accepted. But as we are endeavoring to treat the assertion as seriously and respectfully as possible, we submit that in the face of absolute and uncontradicted proof, corroborated by general scientific experience, we are not bound to devote any considerable space to the demonstration that the fact must be taken to be as we have stated it. In fairness to the Commissioners for Great Britain, it may be proper to call attention to their own language, noting, however, the singular process by which they make the migration of the seals commence at an uncertain point in the Pacific to reach their well-established home and place of nativity in the north. The absurdity chargeable upon the British Commissioners of thus beginning at an uncertain point to reach a certain one is shown by Capt. Scammon, who has been an officer in the United States Reve- nue-Marine Service since 1863. Mr. Scammon is also the author of the work entitled “The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast 250 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. of North America,” published by J. H. Carmany & Co., San Francisco, 1874. He says The certainty that the seals caught in the North Pacific are in fact a portion of the Pribilof herd, and that all are born, and reared for the first few months, upon the islands of that group, naturally leads the observer to regard them as quite domesticated and belonging upon their island home. The more orderly way to describe them, therefore, would be to commence with their birth upon the island and the beginning of their migrations, rather than at the end of some one of their annual rounds away trom home. We now quote the language of the Report of the British Commis- sioners: The fur-seal of the North Pacific Ocean is an animal in its nature essentially pelagic, which, during the greater part of each year, has no occasion to see& the land and very rarely does so. For some portion of the year, however, it naturally resorts to certain littoral breeding places, where the young are brought forth and suckled on land, It is gregarious in habit, and, though seldom found in detined schools or compact bodies at sea, congregates in large numbers at the breeding places. (Sec. 26.) Then they describe the migrations and continue: The fur-seal of the North Pacific may thus be said, in each case, to have two habitats or homes between ‘ofc it migrates, both equally necessary to its existence, under present circumstances, the one fre- quented in sumer, the other during the winter. Unless the vast expanse of sea between the Aleutian Islands and Cali- fornia may be considered a winter habitat, it is difficult to see upon what foundation these gentlemen have felt justified in making the statement of adouble home. The ebject of such an argumentative assertion is too plain to require consideration, at least in connection with this point. The truth upon this question of habitat or home is as stated by the American Commissioners in their report. They use the following language: The Pribilof Islands are the home of the Alaskan fur-seal (Callorhi- nus ursinus). They are peculiarly adapted, by reason of their isolation and climate, for seal life, and because of this peculiar adaptability were undoubtedly chosen by the seals for their habitation. The climatic conditions are especially favorable. The seal, while on land, needs a cool, moist, and cloudy climate, sunshine and warmth producing a very injurious effect upon the animals. These requisite phenomena are found at the Pribilof Islands, and nowhere else in bering Sea or the North Pacific save at the Commander (Komandorski) Islands. (Case of the United States, p. 89.) SUMMARY OF THE £&VIDENCE. 251 What might be the result if the seals were prevented from landing to drop their young at the Pribilof Islands is wholly a matter of con- jecture. It would seem from the testimony in the Case quite certain that the pregnant females would lose their young if they were on the point of delivery when reaching the islands, and if driven off by man, or by accident; they certainly would be exposed to great danger while looking for another home, even assuming this exercise of sound judg- ment in extremis to be probable. Such difficulties do not, however, trouble the Commissioners, who are satisfied that if they were to be de- barred from reaching the islands now chiefly resorted to for breeding purposes, they would speedily seek out other places upon which to give birth to their young. (Report of British Commissioners, Sec. 28.) This is based upon ‘“ experience recorded elsewhere.” We fail to find any such recorded experience which would justify so wild an assertion. On the contrary, it appears that when the heavy females have been debarred by ice from the land they were delivered in the water and the young perished. The experience of the South Sea seals is directly opposed to this theory. Exclusion from their usual haunts meant destruction. Why did they not when shut off from the resort of their choice seek out a new home, with the proper conditions of climate, soil, and food, to take the place of the old home from which man had driven them? We know of no reasonable theory upon which it may be plausibly argued that the Pribilof seals would, under the like circumstances, act differently. IJ].—MoVEMENTS OF THE SEALS AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE YOUNG. It being conceded that the fur-seals known as the Alaska seals breed, “at least for the most part” (Report of British Commissioners, Sec. 27), on the Pribilof Islands in summer, it becomes important to know what their movements may be after the birth of the young. There is no very material difference between the statements of the Commis- Sioners of the respective governments on this point. The breeding males begin to arrive on the Pribilof Islands at vary- ing dates in May and remain continuously ashore for about three months, after which they are freed from all duties on the breeding rookeries and only occasionally return to the shores. The breeding females arrive, for the most part, nearly a month later, bearing their young immediately on landing, and remain ashore, jealously guarded by the males, for several weeks, after which they take every oppor- tunity to play in the water close along the beaches, and about a month 252 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. later they also begin to leave the islands in search of food and migrate to their winter habitat. The young males and the young females come ashore later than the breeding seals, and at more irregular dates, and haul out by themselves. Lastly, the pups of the year born in June and July commence to pod, or herd together, away from their mothers, towards the middle or end of August, and after that frequent the beaches in great numbers and bathe and swim in the surf. They remain on the islands until October, and even November, being among the last to leave (Report of the British Commissioners, Sec. 30). The United States Commissioners make the following statement, which is corroborated by abundant evidence. The bulls are the male seals from five or six to twenty years of age, and weigh from four hundred to seven hundred pounds. hey arrive on the breeding ground in the lat- ter part of April or the first few days of May, but the time is, to a cer- tain extent, dependent upon the going out of the ice about the island. (Case of the United States, p. 108.) Toward the latter part of May or first of June, the cows begin to appear in the waters adjacent to the island and immediately land upon the breeding ground. The great majority, however, do not haul up until the latter part of June, and the arrivals continue until the middle of July. Some of the bulls at this time (about the first of August) begin to leave the islands, and continue going until the early part of October. Case of United States, p. 112, citing witnesses as to this point.] The bachelor seals, or nonbreeding males, ranging in age from 1 to 5 or 6 years, begin to arrive in the vicinity of the islands soon after the bulls have taken up their positions upon the rookeries, but the greater number appear toward the latter part of May. They en- deavor to land upon the breeding grounds, but are driven oit by the bulls and compelled to seek the hauling grounds. As to the departure of the seals from their home on the Pribilof Islands, there does not seem to be any question that the statement in the United States Commissioners’ Report is correct. The length of time that a pup is dependent upon its mother, as here- tofore stated, compels her to remain npon the island until the middle of November, when the cold and stormy weather induces her to start, her pup being then able to support itself (pp. 119, 120). ~The bachelor seals generally leave at the same time as the cows and pups leave the island, though a few bachelors always are found after that period (p. 122 of the case of United States). The Alaskan herd has had but one breeding place, which is the Pribilof Islands. While there is no express contradiction as to this SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE. 253 in the Report of the British Commissioners, it may be interesting to cite some of the proof in support of this assertion. (a) The islands are in every particular adapted by climate and con- ditions to the purpose. While it is suggested, as we have seen above, by the British Commissioners, that the seals would find no difficulty in procuring another suitable place for breeding and for passing the sum- mer months, this is manifestly a conjecture and need not be dwelt upon. (b) There is no evidence that the animal has ever resorted to other places, but all the evidence before this High Tribunal of Arbitration leads to the inference above stated. The language of the Case on the part of the United States is as fol- lows (p. 89): The climatic conditions are especially favorable. The seal, while on land, needs a cool, moist, and cloudy climate, sunshine and warmth producing a very injurious effect upon the animals. These requisite phenomena are found at the Pribilof Islands and nowhere else in Ber- ing Sea or the North Pacific, save at the Commander (Komandorski) Islands. This is abundantly sustained by the proof. See upon this point the testimony of Charles Bryant (Appendix to Case of the United States, Vol. LI, p. 4), Capt. Bryant having been long engaged in whaling and having acted as Special Treasury Agent at the Pribilof Islands, Also Samuel Faleoner (ibid., p. 164). Mr. Falconer had had long experience as Treasury Agent on the islands, and otherwise, and is a fully competent witness upon this point. He assigns the reason for the selection of this breeding locality by the seals in the following lan- guage: The reason the seals have chosen these islands for their home is be- cause the Pribilof group lies in a belt of fog, occasioned by the waters ot the Arctic Ocean coming down from the north and the warmer waters of the Pacific flowing north and meeting at about this point in Bering Sea. 1t is necessary that the seals should have a misty or fogg atmosphere of this kind while on land, as sunshine has a very injurious effect upon them. Then, too, the islands are so isolated that the seal, which is a very timid animal, remains here undisturbed, as every pre- caution is taken not to disturb the animals while they are on the rook- eries. The mean temperature of the islands is during the winter about 26° F°., and in summer about 43°. I know of no other locality which possesses these peculiarities of moisture and temperature. The grounds occupied by the seals for breeding purposes are along the coast, ex- tending from high-water mark back to the cliffs, which abound on Saint George Island. The young males or bachelors, not being allowed to land on these breeding places, lie back of and around these breeding grounds on areas designated hauling grounds. 254 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, Captain Morgan says (ibid., p. 61): I believe that the cause the seals choose these islands for their home is because of the isolation of these Pribilof Islands and because the climatic condition of these Pribilof Islands is peculiarly favorably to seal life. During the time the seals are upon land the weather is damp and cool, the islands being almost continually enveloped in fogs, the average temper ature being about 41° F. during the summer. See, too, Daniel Webster, local agent for the North American Com- mercial Company, and stationed on St. George Island, who uses the following language (ibid., p. 180): These islands are isolated and seem to possess the necessary climatic conditions to make them the favorite breeding grounds of the Alaskan fur-seals, and it is here they congregate during the summer months of each year to bring forth and rear their young. Mr. Redpath, a resident of St. Paul Island, Alaska. He had resided on the seal islands of St. Paul and St. George since 1875, that is to say, at the time of giving his deposition, some seventeen years. He testified as follows upon this point (ibid., p. 148): The Alaskan fur-seal is a native of the Pribilof Islands, and, unless prevented, will return to those islands every year with the regularity of the seasons. sie imm aa 659 = mioferalmiayalniss ain'ainin aim iviclici~'is se aiaciae ele 148 1 D110 EPO Oar Ame nom eerie enor Sere ocee CoC Ceee cer Ser ee eat cic 148 Feeding excursions ....-2.--cscrsccscecccess Peon OSR Oso ROE een Secor 149 Speed in swiniMing ....1.-ccceceserese sess Saveons ns ceeesseeeaeeees 157 Departure from the islands....... mieten ale e's saiiwoue ones s cele Ses eee Le The bachelors: Arrival at the islands ....... ocaeewiecoctimes cscs Scns eaclinem cee aaeee 158 The kabler Gliss 2. took coe womans Oe etealce td 2 seeaa atellee a/ ae eee 159 MOGCIn G22 ose ete sie ese oin erwin a eller hela sin aie lees leo a ere 159 Mingling with the cowS . .......--------- 2-20 eee cee cone cece eee ones 160 Departure from the islands... . 1.2.2. se0cese-20 sees cece ence conc cences 161 Migration of the herd: CR USGS = pee cs aa te orale ace es ae ne rae ee 161 "EWG GOUIS6 os .- one as 9 a nice are epee aie aici emia 2 wicele < ae ae ee mt 164 I PhoheYeyecoy ain yi (sl bb Y eee re eer an ent mee rre rane der cee poor e 186 Herd does not land except on Pribilof Islands .........--...--..--... 188 Heérd does not enter inland: waters..22..22-22---"+2-— 4-54 eee 195 SDT GUWUSSI AION sa aes seas ae oer wee ere i ee ieee - 208 MANAGEMENT OF THE SEAL ROOKERIES: The slaughter of 1868 1.20. .-0222 cece cee nee cee ee ene ee ee eee eee ee 211 American management: TENG) 16856 (OD LSU = ss am cclee soem e a ss emce sie ae eng eae oe 212 Condition of the natives: Under the Russian (Company 226.252. serene ean aoe eeeee eee 213 Under American control—Improvement ........-..--..----0. 2222-20. 214 The seals: Qontrol and domestication: 22.0 5.< So25 ede ea nee ones. en issn cee eee 27 Pepteotion Of #aninles +2022 2 Soc sees eases ee aes ee 293 Whe olla 6 GLAds ec cose Sao aae a elae sano aaa lm a ae 228 Disturbancé.of breeding seals2:i2<-.2.csss2.9622--6 ones eee er 230 INGogord (so ae ed ets he ae eee sk ee Oe errs ce Seep ee So 232 Manneriof takings osc s2.4-255 s.es.egs5s0eeessse- = eee eo eee 234 DYiViNG .- 2200 cee eee o- nee eee cece oes ee sene 22-5 Bee ee ose sac 235 Ovéerdrivine and Tédrivint’sss.52-.s 2s a ee Prohibition of pelagic sealing in Bering Sea ....-..-----..-----+--- Prohibition of pelagic sealing within a zone...--.---.-------------- OCs iin, Berio S6b. <5 concen sisceelses te ool eeioe nea eee THE SEALSKIN INDUSTRY: ENMTG O86 cma oz wise sic) sin'aeloia ee erayrow stole Sog'= else ate sie ain oie cies 0 eh eee Sourcés.Of Supply. s- c ise gen 2. eae see coscee coetencs some ae eee Mametss ces wretste cea thoe, ae ea cise Se alerts orm ara nie ole eicle ae ee UR TA DT CRON ES moras wie sai aiaya wine Bem aie ee eter ate aot 3 ante oleate ae Sources! of supply ..22s252eece esses snc te ssc soe et. ae Dependenceé:on Alaskan) herd... 2s. . Sse aoels Stee a ewe cee ee Lese'tf herd destroyed sans soaks dee ssec cess Gases ose so sees cee eee Tidss'to United Stites 2 cso. cco la, cat eectacsietalsan-men= miei s eee Loss to Great. Britain’ .00 023206 ctedac ees see ane welsewiosn eae eee TUS HG, SELON CG vas Se cineca ie eet are amir ee Neéedvof regular supply of Skitsis.-<..265: escescesor sce ee eee TV EROS = = Sot cia elise pie em Ss oe ie acs Si pee pe ts alt cae ee Cara dian iyestment in 1890 ==: 225-2 eee EmployésiinsCanadaiand london.) 222. ca- 2 Secces cone cincee eee ae Employés in Canada and United States.........--.---1.--. 2.2222 cece Canadian investment questionable: -s.2- .25 o25<-'aseels seca esceemeas Pelagic sealing @ specn lation . 2... cece. s cee e cee eee one cone meee cone THE DEPONENTS, THEIR POSITIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND EXPERIENCE, Charles A. Abbey, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 51 years of age, and am captain in the Revenue Ma- rine of the United States, and have been in the ©@. 4. Abbey, p. 185. service for nearly twenty-eight years. From June, 1886, until the latter part of August, 1886, I was in charge of the reve- nue steamer Corwin, cruising in Bering Sea, for the purpose of protect- ing seal life, the fur- seal industry, and the Government interests in Alaska generally. Charles Adair, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am by occupation a sailor; Lreside in Port Townsend. I have made two sealing voyages in the North Chas. Adair, p. 400. Pacific and Bering Sea. In 1889 I went on the American schooner James G. Sican, and in 1899 in the British schooner Rosie Olsen, of which Capt. McLean was master. George R. Adams, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Paso Robles, Cal., where lam employed in general @, R. Adams, p. 157. business. I first went to Alaska in the bark Golden Gate, Capt. Seammon, June 10, 1865, on the American tele- graph expedition, and explored the countr y about Bering Sea from St. Michaels north, returning in September, 1867. In thes spring of 1868 I[ returned to Alaska soon after its purchase by the Unrted States. I went for the late John Parrott. of San Francisco, direct to the islands of St. Paul and St. George. We were the first parties who went to those islands after the purchase, and commenced taking seals about the Ist of July. Akatoo, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Yakutat about thirty years ago; am a hunter by occupa- tion, hunting sea otter ‘and bear. Akatoo, p. 237. J. 0.8. Akerly, PH. B., M. D., having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam a graduate of the University of Cali- fornia, 1882, and a graduate of the Cooper Medi- J, c. 8. Akerly, p. 95. cal College, 1885. From June to August 18, 1891, I was surgeon of the Revenue Marine stea mer Cor win. From August 18 to November 24, 1891, I was resident physician on St. Paul Island, one of the Pribilof: or seal islands. Iam at present a practicing phy si- cian at Oakland, Cal. During my stay on the islands I made frequent visits to the different seal rookeries, 1 2 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Personally appears before me A. B. Alexander, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 37 years of age, a A, B. Alexander, p. 952.citizen of Gloucester, Mass., and have been for six years and stillam anemployéof the U.S. Fish Com- mission as a fishery expert, being detailed for service on the Fish Com- mission steamer Albatross, Ou March 29 I was detailed for temporary service on the United States revenue steamer Corwin, and am still so en- gaged. During my service on the Corwin Lhave cruised as far north as Yakutat Bay. I have visited, with but few exceptions, all the ports and native villages from Dixons Entrance to and including Yakutat Bay. I have personally conversed with the Indians, owners of vessels, seal hunters, both native and white, and others engaged in the sealing busi- ness. I have been in canoes and boats, and personaliy observed the taking of seals by all methods practiced on this coast, and have thus sought to familiarize myself in every way with the aquatic habits of the seal, their habitat, method of capture, and all matters of interest connected with the sealing industry. John Alexandroff and Feodor Barastoff, being duly sworn, depose and say: We are respectively the priest and oe mice 909 “chief of the natives at the settlement known as wee“ Soldovoi, on Cooks Inlet, Alaska, and have lived in the immediate vicinity all our lives. We are by occupation hunterg of all fur-bearing animals, excepting the fur-seal. We have had no ex- perience in hunting fur-seals, because we are informed that it is unlaw- ful. Our occupation does not take us below the entrance to Cooks In- let; in a line from Cape Elizabeth on the peninsula to Cape Douglass on the mainland opposite. Watson C, Allis, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 36 years old, an American citizen, residing in San W. C. Allis, p. 97. Francisco, Cal., and by oceupation an agent of the Fairbanks Seale Company, engaged in selling and setting up scales. In the summer of 1832, and again from the spring of 1887 to the fall of 1889, I was assistant agent of the Alaska Com- mercial Company upon St. Paul Island, and worked four sealing sea- sons in charge of a gang of natives engaged in seal killing. Nicholas William Andersen, a resident of Afognak, being duly sworn, deposed and said: I have been in Alaska N. W. Andersen, p. 223. twenty years; Lhave been a hunter eighteen years; J have never hunted seals; I have been along the coast from Prince William Sound to Sennak Islands Andrew Anderson, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at St. Paul, Kadiak Island, Alaska Territory. Iam Andrew Anderson, p.217.a sea-otter hunter by occupation, and am now master of a hunting schooner. While engaged in hunting during the past eighteen years I have killed more or less fur seals. C. H. Anderson, a citizen of the United States of America, 48 years of age, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Lam C. H. Anderson, p. 205. & Master-mariner by occupation, and reside in San Francisco, Cal. I have been sailing in Alas- kan waters since 1880. For seven years I cruised in the Unalaska dis- THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE, 3 trict, which embraces the Shumagin and Sannak Islands, the Aleutian chain, the Pribilofs, Bristol Bay, and the eastern coast of Bering Sea as far as St. Michaels. I have made four or five trips from Unalaska to Attu and return, and eight or nine between Atka and Unalaska, chiefly in spring and fall of the year. Peter Anderson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in Vic- toria, British Columbia; am by occupation a sea- man and hunter; I have been-engaged in the last Peter Anderson, p. 313. three years in taking seal in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea in capacity of boat-steerer. The vessels I was employed on are as follows: Black Diamond, Ariel, and Umbrina, all British schooners. H. Andricius, being duly sworn, deposes and says: My age is 21 yeras; occupation, seaman; and live in Victoria, British Columbia. I first sailed in 1591 in the A. Andricius, p. 314. vessel NV. H. Paint, Bisit, master, aS boat-steerer, Anna-tlas, chief of the Takou tribe of Indians, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Have always been chief of this tribe. Have never been seal-hunting in my life. Anna-tlas, p. 254. Myself and tribe go.to the coast as far as Wrangel and trade with the Killisnoo Indians for oil. Nicoli Apokchee, Peter Abankook, Stephan Langwalic, Lyfym Monin, Denis Malzoff, Wasyryon Ofkew, Pavel Ofkew, |. : and Pavel Ringchook, being duly sworn, depose ee adel and say: That we are natives of Alaska, and re- ~~ side at thesettlement known as Fort Alexander, on Cooks Inlet, Alaska Territory. We are, by occupation, hunters of fur-bearing animals, ex- * cepting the fur-seal, and have been engaged in this pursuit the greater part of our lives, chiefly in this region. John Armstrong, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 50 years old, and reside in San Francisco. I was employed in Alaska service in connection with John Armstrong, p. 1. the seal fisheries from 1868 to 1886, inclusive. During the first eight years of the time I was chief engineer of the steamer plying between San Francisco and the seal islands and other Alaska ports, and from 1877 to 1886, inclusive, as agent of the Alaska Commercial Company, living almost constantly for the whole ten years upon St. Paul Island. I always assisted in the seal-killing, and, in common with all other employés on the islands, made the seals my study and care. Everyone connected with the business, from the superin- tendent to the humblest laborer, is, when at the islands, keenly alive to every occurrence relating to the herd. There is nothing else but seals to attract our attention when there, and the most trivial incidents in regard to the rookeries, as well as the more serious ones, are noted and discussed. Kerrick Artomanoff, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a native Aleut, and reside on St. Paul Island, Prib- ilof Group, Alaska; Iwas born at Northeast Point, Kerrick Artomanof,, p. 99. on St. Paul Island, and am 67 years of age. have worked on the sealing grounds for the last fifty years, and am 4 THE DEPONENT'S AND THEIK EXPERIENCE. well acquainted with the methods adopted by the Russian and Ameri- can Governments in taking of fur-seal skins and in protecting and pre- serving the herds on the isiand. In 1870, when the Aiaska Commercial Company obtained the lease of the islands, I was made chief, and held the position for seventeen years. It was my duty as chief to take charge of and conduct the drives with my people from the hauling to the killing grounds. Atenas Koo, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am an old man. Was born in Yakutat and am a member of the Atonas- Koo, p. 237. Yakutat tribe of Indians. I have hunted all my life. Charles Avery, a resident of St. Paul, Kadiak, Alaska, being duly sworn, deposed and said: Iam captain of a seal- Chas. Avery, p. 218. ing schooner; have been six years in Alaska; have been hunting seals three years. Adam Ayonkee, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam about 60 years old; born at and reside in Sitka. Am by oe- Adam Ayonkee, p. 255. Cupationahunter. Huntseal in summer and deer in winter ever since I was a smail boy. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is George Ball; age, 42; residence at pres- Geo. Ball, p. 481. ent, San Francisco, Cal.; occupation, master and hunter of seals. Q. Are you a citizen of the United States?—A. I am. @. What State are you a resident of ?—A. I am a native of Connect- icut and a resident of California for the last twenty-seven years. (). Have you been engaged in catching seals in the Pacific and Ber- ing Sea, and for how long?—A. I have been engaged in sealing in the Pacific and Bering Sea off and on for a number of years past; constantly during the sealing season for the last few years. George Bantle, having been duiy sworn, deposes and says: My age is 53. Treside in San Francisco. Iam a packer Geo. Bantle, p. 508. and sorter of raw fur skins, and have been engaged in that occupation for the last twenty years. My ealling has made me a judge of raw seal skins, as I have handled in the last ten or twelve years from 10,000 to 15,000 annually. If can tell by examining a skin whether it was caught in season, and whether it was caught on the Russian side or on the American side. J, Milton Barnes, being duly sworn according to law, depose and say as follows: Lam a citizen of the United States, Milton Barnes, p.101. and when at home reside near Columbus, Ohio. Have been temporarily stationed during the last year on the Island of St. Paul, one of the fur-seal or Pribilof Group in Bering Sea, as a special employé of the United States Treasury Depart- ment on said island. Johnny Baronovitch, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Kasan and have lived here all my life. My. business is that of hunting and fishing. Have hunted fur-seal in a canoe in May off the Prince of Wales Island. Johnny Baronovitch, p. 276. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE, 5 ©. Francis Bates, being duly sworn, says: I am a member of the firm ot Martin Bates, jr., & Co., and am the person de- scribed in and who verified an affidavit on the 22d ¢. Francis Bates, p. 508. day of June, 1892, relating to the value of the in- dustry of manufacturing seal-skin articles in the United States, and other matters. C. Francis Bates, being duly sworn, says: I am 67 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York. Early in this century my father ©, Francis Bates, p.528. established a wholesale fur business in this city, and to this business I have succeeded. Ihave been engaged in it for the past fifty years. It is now carried on under the name of Martin Bates, jr., & Co. For many years we have been large purchasers of Alaska (or Pribilof Island) fur-seal skins, having bought in London and brought to this country, between the years 1879 and 1891, 71,904 such skins. I am familiar with the value and extent of the industry of manufacturing articles of fur-seal skins in this country, my house having until very recently been largely interested in it. Maurice Bates, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 40 years old; was born in British Columbia, and now re- side in New Metlakahtla. [I am a hunter by Maurice Bates, p. 276. occupation; have hunted fur-seal in a canoe ever since I was old enough. My hunting lodge is on Dundas Island, and I hunt in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island. Charles J. Behlow, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California; I am by occupation a fur merchant, Chas. J. Behlow, p. 403, and have been so engaged permanently for the last thirty-five years, during which time I have been constantly hand- ling large quantities of raw fur-seal skins from many different localities, and I can readily distinguish the respective quality, size, age, and sex. William Bendt, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in San Francisco. My occupation is that of saloon keeper and lodging-house keeper. I have been Wm. Bendt, p. 404. engaged in fitting out sealing vessels and sending them to the North Pacific and Bering Sea for eight or nine years. I fitted out the schooners Powler, Laura, C. H. White, and others. Iam now the managing owner of the schooner Bowhead, Wilton C. Bennett, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Neah Bay. Iam 32 years old, and have been a seal hunter all my life in the North Pacific Wilton C. Bennett, p. 356. Ocean and one season in Bering Sea, alwaysin the capacity of hunter. Edward Benson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 34 years old; was born in British Columbia; and now re- side at New Metlakahtla. Ihave been engaged in £dward Benson, p. 277. hunting five years. Have hunted seals in canoes, 6 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Martin Benson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I have been en- gaged in sealing five years, as master of the Martin Benson, p. 405. James G. Swan and the Leo in Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. H. 8. Bevington, M. A., being duly sworn, doth depose and say: That he is 40 years of age,and a subjectot Her Britannic H.S. Bevington, p. 551. Majesty, and is the head of the firm of Bevington & Morris, doing business as fur merchants and manufacturers at 28 Canon street, in the city of London. That his said firm was founded in the year 1726, and has been continued in the same family during the whole of these years down to the present time, and has been engaged during the whole of the period since 1726 in the same business, dealing in furs and leather. That depouent has been in the business ever since the year 1873. During the whole of the period since that date his said firin have been in the habit of buying fur-seal skins, and he knows from his general knowledge of the business that prior to that time they were in the habit of buying seal skins ever since they became an article of commerce, That deponent has personally handled many thousands of skins of the fur seal, and by reason of that fact and of his experience in his business has a general knowledge of the history of the fur-seal, skin business, and a general and precise knowledge of the several kinds of skins which now, and for many years last past, have come upon the London market. John G. Blair, of San Francisco, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 5% years old, and an American J. G. Blair, p. 193. citizen, and am now and have been tor the past fourteen years, until recently, master of the schooner Leon, formerly in the service of Hutchinson, Cole, Philipeus & Co., and now employed by the Russian Seal-skin Company. During all this time I have been constantly engaged in the fur-sealing industry, and am familar with the habits of these animals both on the land and in the water. Iwas in charge of and attended to the killing of seals upon Robben Island for the lessees from 1878 to 1885, inclusive, taking from 1,000 to 4,000 seals per annum in each of these years for their skins, and have visited the islands in the Leon every year except two since 1885 to the present date. During the two years excepted I was sealing on the Commander Islands. Bernhardt Bleidner, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Victoria, British Columbia; am 32 years of age; Bernhardt Bleidner, p.314.my occupation, seaman. In 1887 I shipped on the schooner Chalienge, Jones, master, as boat puller. * * * Tn January, 1889, I again shipped from Victoria, British Columbia, in the schooner Walter Rich, Siewart, master. Niels Bonde, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 24 years ox age; residence, Victoria, British Columbia; oc: Niels Bonde, p.315. cupation, seaman. I went sealing as deck hand in the British schooner Kate, Capt. Moss, master, in 1887. * * * Jn 1888 I left Victoria on the 11th of April as mate and interpreter on the British schooner Arannah, H. F. Siewart, master. * * * JI left Victoria on the 28th of May, 1889, in the British schooner Kate as deck hand, * * * In 1890T left Victoria THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. - on the 17th of January in the British schooner Pioneer, Morgan, master. I shipped as a deck hand. We, the undersigned, natives, residents of St. Paul Island, who have for a number of years been engaged in the busi- ness of sealing on these islands, having been pres- ent and heard the testimony of Anton Melove- doff and Noen Mandregin, as above given, do hereby concur substan- tially in their statements. Apollon Borudakafisky et al., p. 140. APOLLON BORUDAKAFFSKY. AGGIE KUSHIN. Nicoutit Krukorr, Second Chief. Bowa-chup, being duly sworn, deposes and says: [am anative Makah Indian, and reside on the reservation at Neah Bay, State of Washington, United States of Amer- — Bowa-chup, p. 376. ica, and am about 40 years of age. I have been engaged in seal hunting ever since I was a boy. Until about ten or twelve years ago, I used to seal along the coast in large canoes from 10 to 18 miles from Cape Flattery and in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. At first I was a paddler, and aiterwards I became a‘spearman. John Andrew Bradley, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I re- side at Coal Point, on Kachekmak Bay, Cook’s Inlet, Alaska, and have lived in this immediate J, 4. Bradley, p. 227. vicinity for the past four years. I have traveled extensively along all the Northwest Coast during the past twenty-two years, and am well acquainted with it. Ihave had no personal prac- tical experience in fur-seal hunting, but at the same time have a fair knowledge of the industry. Thomas Bradley, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I re- side in San Francisco. My occupation is that of aseaman. In 1884 I shipped on the Maggie Ross Thos. Bradley, p. 406. as a boat puller for a sealing voyage to the North Pacific and Bering Sea. William Brennan, being first duly sworn, de- poses and says: Lam 37 years of age; was bornin William Brennan, p. 357. London; am by occupation a seafaring man; and reside at Seattle, in the State of Washington. I have spent the best years of my life in the close study of the denizens of the sea, including seals and the modes of capturing them, such as seafaring men. bestow upon matters in which they are interested participants. I first went to sea in November, 1869, and have been connected with shipping mat- ters for twenty-three years. Passing my examination as second mate in London in 1874, I went to Australia, thence to China and Japan, remaining in Japan several years, * * * I have since followed the sea as sailing captain, pilot, and quartermaster on vessels sailing out of William Brennan, p. 358, Victoria, British Columbia. Henry Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 42 years of age, and residein Victoria, Henry Brown, p. 317, British Columbia. I am by occupation aseaman. On or about February 21, 1890, I shipped as an able seaman, but did Service as a boat steerer on the sealing schooner Minnie, which cleared 8 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE from Victoria. * * * On January 19, 1891, I shipped at Victoria as an able seaman, and took the boat steerer’s billet on the sealing schooner Mascot, Lawrence, master. * * * Qn February 25, 1892, I shipped at Victoria, British Columbia, on the sealing schooner May Belle, Smith, master. I shipped as an able seaman, and did service in the sternboat as boat steerer. Joseph Stanley Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 36 years of age; am a citizen of the United J. Stanley Brown, p. 10. States; reside in Mentor, Ohio; am by profession a geologist, and as such am employed in the U. 8. Geological Survey. In April, 1891, I was ordered by the honorable the Secretary of the Interior, to whose direction the officers of the Geological Survey are subject, to report to the honorable the Secretary of the Treasury per- sonally for special service. This I did, and on the 27th of that month I received from the latter a temporary appointment as special agent. On May 4 I was given instructions to visit the Pribilof Islands, for the purpose of studying the seal life found thereon, with a view to pro- curing full and accurate information, not only as to its present general condition, but aiso more specifically as to any increase or diminution of the seal herd that makes its home upon the islands. I was further instructed, should i find that change had occurred, to inquire carefully into its relative amount and the causes leading thereto. My duties were in no way connected with the administration of the islands, but I was left free tomake as exhaustive and comprehensive an examination of seai life on the islands as the time at my disposal would permit. In accordance with my instructions I proceeded to San Francisco, and on the 27th day of May sailed for Bering Sea on the United States revenue steamer Rush. Tie Rush arrived at St. George Island on June 9 and at St. Paul on the following day. I entered immediately upon the work assigned me and continued it interruptedly until Sep- tember 22, when the Rush returned to San Francisco, arriving there on October 2. Of the one hundred and thirty days devoted to field investigation eighty were given to the two islands and fifty spent at sea in making the voyage to and from San Francisco and in cruising in the vicinity of the Pribilof Islands. This cruising carried me as far north as the island of St. Matthew and of Nunivak, and gave me an opportunity to visit the villages of Akutan, Unalaska, Makushin, Hashega, and Cher- nofsky, on the Aleutian chain. Thus by field investigation, by cruising, as well as by seeking information from those qualified by their calling to give it, I sought to familiarize myself with the seal question in all its phases. In the prosecution of my investigations I deemed it desirable to pho- tograph ali the rookeries often from two positions; to make a general topographic survey of both islands on a scale of 1 mile to the inch and to prepare detailed charts of the rookeries upon the unusually large scale of 264 feet to the inch. In carrying out this work I examined the entire shore lines of St. Pani and St. George, and there is not an area of a mile square upon either that I have not traversed nor a square hundred feet upon a rookery that I have not repeatedly inspected. The close atten- tion to topographic forms demanded in platting rookeries with so much minuteness and the care required in selecting the best positions to secure photographs inevitably drew me in close contact with seal life and greatly increased my opportunities to study it. There was hardly THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 4 a day in which I did not have a chance to examine the rookeries and observe rookery life in its varied forms. In all my work upon the islands I was constantly attended by native Aleuts, who assisted in transporting my instruments aid other impedimeita, Several of these could speak fair English. Our intimate daily relations, which extended over nearly three months, were under conditions that offered neither incentive to secrecy nor to deception, and, while their general views on and theory of seal life are to be received with caution, they are keen observers of little details, and from them, their friends, and old Russian records on the islands I received many valuable hints of a natural his- tory and historical character. Peter Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam the native chief of the Makah Indians; am about 955 years old, and reside on the Neah Bay Reservation, in Peter Brown, p.377. the County of Clallam, and State of W ashington, United States of America. I am acquainted with the habits of my peo- ple and the methods adopted by them in hunting thefur-seal 1am the master and one-third owner of the fishing schooner James G. Swan. Ihave been engaged in hunting seals with spears, more or less, all of my ife. ] Thomas Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says: My ageis 31 years; my residence is Vi ictoria, British Columbia; _ occupation, seaman. I went sealing in 1889 from see Brown (No.1), San Francisco, Cal. (1 do not remember the name of , the vessel), Capt. Scott was master. * * * In 1850 1 went sealing again in the schooner Sea Lion, Madison, master. * * * Iwas boat- puller. * * * In 1891, in the month of February, I sailed from Victoria, British Columbia, on the schooner Thistle, Nicherson, mas- ter. * * * ITsigned as boat- puller. Thomas Brown, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: i reside in San Francisco. My occupation is that of a laborer. I made a sealing voyage to the North mae Brown (No.2), Pacific and Bering Sea on the Alewander, of ” which Capt. MeLean was master. Charles Bryant, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a resident of Mattapoisett, Plymouth County, State of Massachusetts, and am 72 years of age. From 1840 to 1858, I was engaged in whaling in the North Pacitic Ocean and Bering Sea. The latter portion of the time 1 was captain of a whaling vessel. I then retired to a farm located in the town of Fairhaven, in Charles Bryant, p.3. Bristol County, State aforesaid. In September, 1868, I was appointed a special Treasury agent to go to the Pribilof Islands to investigate and te report as to the habits of the fur-seal, the condition of the islands, and the most advantageous plan to adopt for the government and management of the same. Pursuant to such appointment [I proceeded to the Pacific coast and in March, 1869, L landed on St. Paul Island and remained there until September of the same year. I then returned to Washington and laid my report before the Treasury Department. f again went back to the islands in July, 1870, and remained until the fall of 1871. Then,in April, 1872, I again arrived on St. Paul Island, this time in the capacity of special agent of the Treasury Departinent in charge of the seal islauds. Iwas upon 10 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. the islands as such agent from that time during the sealing seasons from 1872 to 1877, inclusive, and passed three winters there, namely, those of 1872, 1874, and 1876. Since the year 1877 I have never visited the seal islands, and have been in retirement at Mattapoisett aforesaid. During these years I Was upon the islands I made a most careful study of seal life thereon, and examined and inquired of the natives in rela- tion to the habits and former conditions of the fur-seals. Capt. James W. Budington, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I * va ee ain 53 years of age, a resident of Groton, Conn., 53. andamastermariner, Since 1871 [have made sev- eral voyages to the southern hemisphere for the purpose of seal hunting, and am thoroughly acquainted with the islands and coasts about Cape Horn and in the southern Atlantic Ocean where fur-seals have been taken. I also studied, as far as I was able, the habits and conditions of the fur-seal of the southern seas. Personally appeared before me Ruth Burdukofski, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 64 years of age, a » native Aleut, being born on Bering Island, and do now reside, and have since the age of 17 resided, at Unalaska. In my early life, during the time of the Russian-Ameri- can Company, I hunted seals in my bidarka in and oft the bays of Un- alaska Island. Ruth Burdukofski et al. p. 206. Karp Buterin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 39 years of age, and I was born on St. Paul Island, Alaska, Karp Buterin, p. 102. and I have always lived here. I have a practical knowledge of the fur-seal industry as it is done on St. Paul Island, for I have been working at it all of my life since I was able to work. Ihave driven seals and clubbed and skinned them; I have had charge of the drives and I have been second chief for four years, and I am head chief now, being elected in 1891. Stephen N. Buynitsky, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam a Russian by birth and am 60 years of age. I grad- S. N. Buynitsky, p.20. uated from the Imperial Lyceum at St. Peters- burg, an institution for the nobility. Am now a resident of the city of Washington. I was detailed by the United States Treasury Department to take charge of St. George Island, in Bering Sea, during the summer of 1870; I returned to the United States in the fall of that year. The following season I was appointed to take charge of both St. Paul and St. George islands. I arrived at the islands in July, 1871, and remained there till the latter part of April, 1872. Dur- ing my stay on the islands I made careful exainination into the habits and nature of the seal, and also read and studied the records left by the Russian Government in relation to the Pribilof Islands. Carlos G. Calkins, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I am a lien- tenant in the U.S. Navy, and have made three C. G. Calkins, p. 104. Cruises into Alaskan waters, as follows, viz, in the year 1890, about the Bristol Bay region and the Aleutian Islands as far west as Umnak; in the year 1891, to the Pribi- lof Islands, in Bering Sea; and in the year 1892, from Kadiak Island to Prince William Sound, going as far into Cooks Inlet as Coal Bay. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE, 11 Landis Callapa, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam about 45 years old, and am a native Makah Indian. I re- side on the reservation at the Neah Bay Agency, Landis Callupa, p. 379. county of Clallam, State of Washington, United States of America, and am, by occupation, a hunter and a fisherman. I have been engaged in hunting seals all my life, and have always used the spear, and went in canoes. Charles Campbell, captain of the British schooner Umbrina, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Have commanded said schooner the last two years. Have been en- Chas. Campbell, p. 256, gaged in sealing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Ivan Canetak, Michaeler Balashoff, Nicoli Inloo, Sacar Balashoff, Nicoli Nicoli, Sacar Rolyah, and Nicoli Inloo, jr., being duly sworn, depose and say: We reside at Ivan Canetak et al.,p. 229, the settlement known as Soidovoi, on Cooks Inlet, Alaska, and have lived in the immediate neighborhood all our lives. We are, by occupation, hunters of all fur-bearing animals, excepting the fur seal, which we do not hunt because we have been told it is un- lawful. John ©, Cantwell, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam a second lieutenant in the United States Reve- nue-Marine Service. I have been on duty in Jno. C. Cantwell, p. 407. Bering Sea during the summer months of the years 1884, 1885, 1886, and 1891, and have frequently been on shore at the Pribilof Islands and in the waters adjacent thereto; have always made it a careful study and paid particular attention to the number of. seal, both on the Pribilof Islands and in the waters of Bering Sea. Whenever opportunity afforded have visited the rookeries for the pur- pose of photographing and sketching the animals and studying their habits, numbers, etc. I have boarded a large number of vessels fitted out as sealers and engaged in sealing, and have conversed with their masters and crews on the subject of pelagic sealing. James L.Cartheut, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 79 years of age. I reside in the city and county of San Francisco. My occupation is that of amas- Jas. L. Carthcut, p. 409. ter mariner. I was engaged in hunting the fur seals in the North Pacific in 1877 to 1837, and during the latter part of the time in Bering Sea. Chakatt, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 65 years of age and a resident of Chakatt, p. 307. Aguis; certifies evidence given by Dick or Ehen- chesut to be true. Charles Challall, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in San Francisco; my occupation is that of a sailor; I have been sealing up the coast and in Bering Sea Chas. Challall, p. 410. three seasons, commencing in 1888 and ending in 1890; in 1888 I went on the Vanderbilt; we did not go into the Bering Sea that year; in 1889 I went on the White, and in 1890 I went on the Hamilton; they were all sealers. 12 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Charlie, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Lama native Nitnat Indian, and belong to the tribe of Indians on Van- Charlie, p. 304. couver Island, British Columbia. I am 55 years old and reside at Pachenah Bay, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Iam, by occupation, a hunter and fisherman, and have been so engaged ever since I have been able to paddle a canoe or spear a fish. I sealed out from Neah Bay in the C. C. Perkins in 1891, and this year I am sailing on James G. Swan. Until the last eight or ten years I sealed out of Pachenah Bay with my tribe in ca- noes. Weused tosealin the Straits of Juan de Fucaand up and down the coast from 10 to 20 miles off. Between that time and last year I went sealing from Pachenah and sealed up and down the coast be- tween Columbia River and Barclay Sound, from 20 to 60 miles off the coast. tam familiar with all the bays and inlets on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Vassili Chichinoff, Timothy Demidoff, Simeon Reisoff, Alamphy Pes- tikott, Prokopy Nankook, Feodore Anutak, Evan Vassili Chichinof et al., Grinoft, and Feodore Grinoff, being duly sworn, p. 218. depose and say: We are residents of St. Paul, Kadiak island, Alaska, and are natives of Alaska. Our occupation is hunting for fur-bearing animals, principally the sea otter. Chilita, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is anative and resident of Aguis; this year he and friend Chillta, p. 308. went out in canoe for one and a half months, and caught 20 seals, picking them up here and there. Certifies that evidence given by Dick or Ehenchesut is true. Simeon Chin-koo-tin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 60 years old; was born and reside at Sitka, and am, Simeon Chin-koo-tin, p. by occupation, a seal hunter; have been engaged 256. in that business since I was a small boy. Julius Christiansen, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at lita Divtaliaieies St. Pauls, Kadiak Isiand, Alaska, and I have 219. >“ in the Territory for the past ten years. I am an otter-hunter by occupation and the owner of a schooner engaged in that pursuit. Peter Church, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Sitka; am 22 years old, and am by occupation a Peter Church, p. 257. hunter. Have been engaged in sealing the past four years in the North Pacific Ocean, always in the capacity of a hunter. Circus Jim, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am about 35 years old, and am a native Makah Indian. I reside on Circus Jim, p. 380. the Indian reservation of Neah Bay, in Clallam County, State of Washington, United States of America. Iam by occupation a hunter and fisherman. I have been engaged at hunting seals for about seventeen years. In early times and until within the last ten years I hunted seals with spears in canoes. During the last ten years I have been sealing up and down the coast in schooners, but used spears all the time. When we used canoes ex- ne THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 13 clusively, I used to hunt and capture seals about 20 miles in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. I first went sealing in the Bering Sea in the James G. Swan in 1889, and went again on the schooner Lottie in 1891. Clahowto, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a resident of the village Mchulet, Barclay Sound, and that the evidence given by Weckenunesch is true. Clahowto, p. 312. James Claplanhoo, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am about 43 years old, and a native Makah Indian. I re- side on the Neah Bay Reservation, county of Clal- Jas. Claplanhoo, p. 381. lam, State of Washington, United States of Amer- ica. Iam, by occupation, a hunter and fisherman. I own the schooner Lottie, which is of about 28 tons burden. I bought the said schooner about seven years ago. I have been engaged in hunting seals about twenty-four years. in my early days I hunted seals in canoes and with spears in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, and about 50 miles off Cape Flattery. Clappa, first being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 50 years of age; a native and resident of Aguis; up to two years ago he hunted seals; his last hunt took place Clappa, p. 307. in a schooner manned by twenty men and ten ¢a- noes; hunted two months and caught 200 seals. Certifies evidence given by Dick or Ehenchesut to be true. Harry N. Clark, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 32 years old, a native of Vermont, and now ares- ident of Vina, Tehama County, Cal., and by oc- Harry N. Clark, p. 158. cupation foreman of vineyard cultivation at Governor Stanford’s Vina Ranch. From 1884 to 1889, inclusive, I was in the employ of the Alaska Com- mercial Company of San Francisco, on St. George Island, Alaska, en- gaged through each sealing season as “ boss” of a gang of seal-hunters, and in the winter, excepting that of 1886 and 1887, as teacher and storekeeper on that island. My work as the leader of the “sealing gang” gave me as _ perfect opportunity as could be had for studying the habits and peculiarities of the seal and determining the best manner of caring for them. The condition of seal life was the principal topic of discussion and thought during the summer months, and the only one of particular in- terest. All became familiar with it, and watched every change in the breeding grounds or number of killable seals as carefully as a farmer watches the increase or decrease of his flocks and herds. William Clark, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Klinquan and have lived there ever since; have hunted fur-seal nineyears in Dixon’s Entrance and 7m. Clark, p. 293. off Prince of Wales Island, in and between March and June. Clat-ka-koi, of the village of Toquat (Barclay Sound), and one of the chiefs thereof, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 504 years of age and belongs to Clat-ka-koi, p. 305. the villages of Toquat and Sechart, at present residing in Toquat, and is a native of the village of Sechart * * * 14 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. He does not hunt seal in schooners. He began sealing in his canoe just off the west coast of Vancouver Island, shortly after last New Xeazm:, * =. * Clat-ka-koi, p. 306. [Clat-ka-koi understands and speaks English fairly well.] Christ Clausen, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Vic- toria, British Columbia; occupation, master mar- Christ Clausen, p. 319. iner, andam 32 years of age. I went seal-hunting in 1889, as mate of the British schooner C. H. Tupper, Capt. Kelly, master, * * * Jn1890 I was navigator in the British schooner Minnie * * * In 1891 I went as navigator in the same vessel. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Daniel Claussen; age, 32; I reside in Daniel Claussen, p. 411. San Francisco and am by occupation a seal- hunter, Q. Are you a citizen of the United States?—A. I am; yes, sir. Q. What State are you a resident of ?—A. California. Q. Have you been engaged in catching seals in the Pacific and Ber- ing Sea, and for how long?—A. I have been engaged in sealing in the Pacific and in Bering Sea for the last six years. John ©. Clement, being duly sworn, deposes and says: J reside at Sitka; am 25 years old. Have hunted seal one John C. Clement, p. 258. season on the schooner Mollie Adams in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Maxwell Cohen, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: Treside at Fort Alexander, Cooks Inlet, Alaska Territory, and am Maxwell Cohen ,p.224. by occupation the agent of the Alaska Commercial Company at this place, where I have resided for the past twenty-two years, during which time it has been my duty to collect and otherwise handle furs and skins of all descriptions for the aforesaid company. Peter Collins, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am by oc- cupation a sailor and reside in San Francisco. I Peter Collins, p.413. Wasengaged as a boat-puller during the years 1888 and 1889. On both trips I went out on the voy- age of the sealing schooner San Diego to Bering Sea. George Comer, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 34 years of age, and a resident of East Haddam, Conn. George Comer, p.596. Since 1879 I have been engaged in sealing in the southern hemisphere and was out every year ex- cept two seasons up to 1889. I visited on these voyages Cape Horn, South Georgia, the Islands of Tristan d’Acunha, Goughs Island, the Crozets and Kerguelen islands. I have observed the habits of the seals frequenting these localities, and I spent fourteen consecutive months on one island, called by us West Cliff, located on the coast of Chile, about 100 miles north of the Straits of Magellan. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 15 Washington C. Coulson, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Tam captain in the United States Revenue Cut- ter Service. At present | am in command of the W. C. Coulson, p. 414. United States revenue cutter Rush. I was at- tached to the United States revenue cutter Lincoln, under the command of Capt. C. M. Scammon, during the year 1870, from June until the close of the year, as a third lieutenant, and have been an officer in the reve- nue service ever since. In the month of that year I was in the Bering Sea and at the seal islands of St. Paul and St. George. I went on shore at both islands and observed the seals and seal life, the method of killing, etc. * * * During the seasons of 1890 and 1891, I was in command of the revenue cutter Rush in Bering Sea, and cruised exten- sively in those waters around the seal islands and the Aleutian group. In the season of 1880 I visited the islands of St. Paul and St. George in the months of July, August, and September, and had ample and frequent opportunities of observing the seal life as compared with 1870. Leander Cox, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 52 years. of age. Jam by occupation a marine engi- neer. Lreside in San Francisco. I first went to Leander Coz, p. 416. the Bering Seain 1871, and have been going there annually since 1874. During the winter time I have been employed as engineer on a passenger vessel running between here and Victoria, British Columbia, making occasional trips south to San Diego, Cal, *- = * I am not now, and never have been in the employ of the present lessees of the seal islands. Louis Culler, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 28 years old, and reside at Port Townsend, State of Washing- ton. lamby occupation acivilengineer. In1888 Louis Culler, p. 321. I shipped at Victoria, B. C., as a boat puller on the sealing schooner Oscar and Hattie, Gault, master. * * * In 1889 I shipped at Victoria as a hunter on the sealing schooner Maggie Mac. * * * In June, 1891, I shipped as a hunter on the sealing schooner Otto, Riley, master. Charlie Dahtlin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born in Shakan and have lived here all my life. Ama very old man. Have been a hunter all my life, Charlie Dahtlin, p. 278. hunting both seal and bear, and all kinds of land animals, and have killed a great many of all kinds. Have hunted seal off the west coast of Prince Edward Island for a number of years. James Dalgarduo, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am ana- tive of Scotland and am 58 years of age; have re- sided in the United States forty-five years, and James Dalgarduo, p. 364. have been a naturalized citizen forty years; I am a resident of Port Townsend and have resided in this vicinity for the past forty years, during which period I followed the business of fishing and piloting. I have been in the seal-hunting schooners for a period of eight years, either as master or owner of the schooner, and I hunted in the vicinity of Cape Flattery, say 30 miles off the cape in each direc- tion. 16 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. William Healy Dall, of Washington, aforesaid, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That in connection with my W. H. Dall, p. 22. scientific studies at Cambridge, Mass., I devoted nearly three years to the study of biology, anat- omy, and medicine; that since completing my studies with Prof. Louis Agassiz at Cambridge, in the year 1863, I have been engaged in scien- tific work, and am now a paleontologist in the U.S. Geological Survey. I first visited Bering Sea in the summer of 1865 as a member of the scientific corps of the Western Union Telegraph expedition. Visited the Aleutian Islands and went to St. Michael, passing near the Pribilof group. Inthe spring of 1866 again went to northern Alaska, in the same capacity, and remained there until the fall of 1868. In 1867 the aforesaid expedition was abandoned, but I remained in the country in order to continue my scientific investigations, wintering on the main- jand. In the fallof 1868 I made my way back to San Francisco on the schooner Francis Stecle, owned by the Pioneer American Fur Company, which hed a station at St. George Island, where we stopped on our way south, and thus gave mea chance to observe seal life for several weeks. In 1871 I joined the U. 8. Coast and Geodetic Survey for the purpose of carrying out a proposed survey of the Aleutian chain of islands. I was thus engaged from the summer of 1871 to the end of the season of 1874, and during the winter of 1871-72 wintered at Unalaska. During this period had opportunity to familiarize myself with aquatic seal life, and in i874 made a reconnoissance survey of the Pribilof Islands, which afforded me an additional opportunity to observe seal life on the rookeries, In 1880 I again visited all my former stations about and in Bering Sea for the purpose of obtaining magnetic observations. This was my last opportunity to examine the rookeries. John Dalton, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 32 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. My John Dalton, p. 417. occupation is that of a sailor. I made a sealing voyage to the North Pacific and Bering Sea in 1885 on the Schooner Alexander, of which Capt. J. F. McLean was master. I was @ boat-puller. Alfred Dardean, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Victoria, British Columbia. My occupation for Alfred Dardean, p. 322. the last two years has been that of a seaman. | went sealing in the schooner Mollie Adams (after- wards changed to #. B. Marvin) as boat puller. Frank Davis, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am about 66 years old, a native Indian of the Makah tribe, re- Frank Davis, p.383. side on the Neah Bay Reservation, in the county Olallam, State of Washington, and my occupation is that of a hunter and fisherman. I have been engaged in seal hunt- ing for about seventeen years. I have always hunted in canoes and with spears, and years ago would killa great many seals. I was up in the Bering Sea sealing in 1889, and have not been there since. All the other years I have been seal hunting along the coast between Grays Harbor and Barclay Sound. Te eee ee THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 17 Jeff. Davis, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam about 24 years ofage, and ai a native Makah Indian, and reside on the reservation at the Neah Bay "Agency, IN Jeff Davis, p. 384. the county of Clallam, State of Washington, United States of America. I am a hunter and tisherman. Since 1876 I have been engaged in hunting seals most of the time in large canoes, each canoe carrying three Indians, who used spears. Isat in the mid. dle of the canoe and was known as the paddler. The one who satin the stern steered the canoe, and the one in the bow was thehunter. * * * I have hunted seals in the Bering Sea for one season only. I yes there in the schooner James G. Swan in 1889. Joseph Dennis, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I re- side in San Francisco; my occupation has been that of seaman for the last three years. I was Joseph Dennis, p. 418. on the Vanderbilt in 1888, that being the only seal- ing trip I ever made. Dick, or Ehenchesut, first being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is about 40 years of. age, and one of the chiefs of the village of Aguis, Barclay Sound; is a na- “ig or Hhenchesut, ‘p. tive of this village, and a resident of the same. , Hooniah Dick, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Born at Sitka; am about 40 years old. Have been living in Hoo- nah ten years, and am now subchief the Hoonah Hooniah Dick, p. 258. Indians. Have hunted seal for three years from Cross Sound to Yakutat. * * * Have traveled from Hoonah to Fort Simpson and north as far as Chilcat through all the channels and sounds in southeastern Alaska, and I come in contact with the people of many tribes of Indians. George Dishow, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Vic- toria, British Columbia; am by occupation a seal hunter; have been engaged in the business six George Dishow, p. 323. years; Was on the Triumph, Favorite, Penelope, two seasons on the Umbrina, and one season on the American schooner Walter Rich, hunting seal in the Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and on the Russian side of the Bering Sea. John Dohrn, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is a native of Germany, and has been engaged in seal hunting during the present season on the schooner Labo- John Dohrn, p. 259. rador, of Vancouver, British Columbia, in the capacity of boatpuller. Richard Dolan, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 55 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. I am by occupation a longshoreman. I made asealing Richard Dolan, p. 418. voyage to the North Pacific and Bering Sea in 1885, on the schooner Alexander, of which Capt. McLean was master. James Henry Douglass, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I ama citizen of the United States. Iam, by occupation, a master and pilot of vessels. My residence iS Jas. H. Douglass, p. 419. Alameda, Cal. I have had a long experience sail- 2BS8 18 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. ing in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. I went to the seal islands in Bering Sea over twenty years ago, and have been there many times subsequently while in the employment of the Government. From 1882 to 1888 I cruised consecutively in Bering Sea as pilot on the revenue cutters Rush and Corwin, and was often on the seal islands, our vessel being frequently anchored offshore in the adjacent waters. I had abundant opportunity and leisure to watch the habits of the fur-seals, both on the Pribolof Islands and in the waters of the Northwest Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. * * * JI am familiar with the area and topography of the various rookeries on the islands. John Duff, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at Coal Point, on Kachemak Bay, Cock’s Inlet, Alaska, John Duff, p. 227. and have lived in the Territory for the last five years. I am the agent for the Cooper Coal and Commercial Company at this place, and have no personal knowledge of fur-seal life. * * * I have traveled extensively through the Terri- tory from Sitka to the Yukon River. Peter Duffy, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am, by occupation, a seaman. I reside in San Francisco. Peter Duffy, p. 421. I was in the Bering Sea in 1884 and 1885 on board the Sea Otter, of which Capt. Williams was mas- ter. I was a boat puller. William Dunean, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 60 years of age; I have resided in British Columbia thirty William Duncan, p. 279. years and at New Metlakalitla five years, and have always been with the Tsimshean Indians, both in British Columbia and Alaska. The Tsimsheans are great hunters of fur-seal. Echon, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am about 50 years old and was born at Shakan. Have lived there all Echon, p. 279. my life. Am a hunter by occupation. Have hunted seal in the summer time and land game in the winter. Have hunted seal off Prince of Wales Island in the spring. Ellabush, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am about 30 years of age, and am a native Makah Indian, and reside Ellabush, p. 385. on the Neah Bay Reservation, in the county of Clallam, State of Washington, United States of America. I commenced sealing in canoes along the coast and in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca about fifteen years ago, and have always hunted seals with spears until recently. * * * About two years ago I began to hunt with guns. M. C. Erskine, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 55 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. I ama M. C. Erskine, p. 421. tmasterimariner by occupation, Ihave been going to the Bering Sea twenty-four years. I went first to the seal islands in April, 1868, and have been going there ever since, visiting the islands every year until 1890. I have been cruising along the coast from here to the Aleutian Islands, and have had an oppor- tunity of ascertaining the habits of the seals. * * * Ihave been bh tall at THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 19 for the past twenty-four years, and am now, employed by the Alaska Commercial Company, the former lessees of the seal islands, and my opportunity for gathering the facts herein set forth has been of the most favorable character, both at the seal islands as well as in the Bering Sea. Iam not nuw and never have been in the employ of the present lessees of the seal islands. Elias Esaiassen, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith: I reside at the settlement known as Soldovoi, on Cooks In- let, Alaska, and have lived in the immediate Llias Esaiassen, p. 230. neighborhood four years. I amaminer and pros- pector by occupation, and have no knowledge of or experience in fur- seal life above the inlet. George Fairchild, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I re- side in San Francisco. Iam a sailor by occupa- tion. I made a sealing voyage to the North Pa- George Fairchild, p. 423. cific and Bering Sea on the Sadie Clyde, of which Capt. Dockerty was master. I was a boat-puller. Samuel Falconer, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 61 years of age, and am now a wool-grower by occupation. My residence is Falconer, McLean County, State Samuel Falconer, p. 163. of North Dakota. In 1868, during the month of October, I went to Sitka, being located there as deputy collector of cus- toms, in which position T remained until September, 1869. I then was employed until September, 1870, as purser on board the steamer Constantine, plying monthly between Port Townsend and Sitka. In October, 1870, having been appointed assistant Treasury agent for the seal islands, T pr oceeded to said islands, and from that time until August, 1876, I remained constantly in char ge of St. George Island, excepting during the winter of 1874—’75. For a few days during each one of these years I visited the Island of St. Paul, never remaining there for any length of time, however. It was necessary, in order that I might fulfill the duties of my office as agent, to make a very careful and full study of seal life, my observations being, of course, confined to St. George Island, and I therefore examined the rookeries and their occupants with the particular purpose of acquainting myself with the habits and peculiarities of the Alaska fur seal, and I endeavored to verify all my observations by particularly interrogating the natives on the islands as to each doubtful point. ¥. F. Feeny, a resident of Long Island, St. Paul Harbor, Kadiak Alaska, being duly sworn, saith: I have resided in Alaska over twenty years. Iam owner and VF. F. Feeny, p. 220. captain of a hunting and trading schooner. Ihave been along the coast from Unimak Pass to Sitka. I have never hunted fur seal regularly, but have killed them when I came across them. Vassili Feodor, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: Iam a native of Alaska, and reside at the settlement known as Soldovoi, on Cooks Inlet, Alaska, where I have Vassili Feodor, p. 230. lived all my life. I am by occupation a hunter of all fur-bearing animals except the fur seal, which I am told it is un- lawful to kill. 20 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Herbert V. Fletcher, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Tam a citizen of Randolph, Vt., where I have had my H. V. Fletcher, p.105. home nearly all my life. 1am by trade a machin- ist and blacksmith, and by occupation a farmer. In 1882 I went to St. Paul Island in the service of the Alaska Com- mercial Company as their chief mechanic, and remained there two years and four months, including the sealing seasons of 1882, 1883, and 1884, During such season of each of these years I was employed a considerable portion of the time in the annual seal-killing, and at other times my work took me frequently to the various parts of the island, so that in the course of my stay there I became, as all do who live there a year or more, very familiar with everything pertaining to the seals. George Fogel, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 52 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. My oe- Geo. Fogel, p. 424, cupation is that of a merchant. I have been in- terested in sealing schooners for four years prior to 1892. I sent out the C. H. White and Aate Manning to the Bering Sea and North Pacific. * * * IT fitted out the schooner Cygnet in 1874, which was one of the first sealers to go to the Bering Sea. * * * In 1870 I sent a vessel to Chilaway, off the coast of Chile. William Foster, a resident of St. Paul, Kadiak, Alaska, being duly sworn, deposed and said: [ama hunter. Have Wm. Foster, p. 220. been in Alaska eighteen years. Have been from Icy Bay to Unalaska. I have never hunted fur seal until last year. C. L. Fowler, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 46 years of age and was born at Stoneham, Mass. I have been a C. L. Fowler, p. 25. resident of the Pribilof Islands most of the time since 1879. My occupation is that of assistant agent of the lessees of the islands. I have had eight years’ experience on the sealing fields of St. Paul and St. George islands, and I have a practical knowledge of the habits of the fur seal while on the islands, and of the methods used in taking and preparing the skins for ship- ment. Frank, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born on Queen Charlottes Island, and am now a very old man. Frank, p. 293. Don’t know my age. I have hunted fur seals. * * * JT always hunted seals in Dixons En- trance and off Prince of Wales and Queen Charlotte islands in March and June. Chief Frank, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am the second chiet of the Kaskan Indians. Was born at and Chief Frank, p. 280. have lived in Kaskan all my life, and am now avery old man. My father lived here before me. My occupation has always been that of a hunter. Have hunted fur- seal in canoes. Have always used the shot-gun for killing seal. Luke Frank, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born in Howkan, and have lived there all my life; am by Luke Prank, p. 294. occupation a hunter, and have hunted fur-seal six years of my life; have always hunted in Dix- THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 21 ows Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island during the month of May and June each year. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Luther T. Franklin; age, 35; residence, at present, Oakland; occupation, seal-hunter. Luther T. Franklin, p. @. Are you a citizen of the United States ?— 425. A. Yes, sir. Q. What State are you a resident of?—A. State of California. Q. Have you been engaged in catching seals in the Pacific and Be- ring Sea?—A. Yes, sir. Q. For how long a time have you been so engaged?—A. Three sea- sons. Alfred Fraser, being duly sworn, says: First, that he is a subject of Her Britannic Majesty and is 52 years of age and resides in the city of Brookiyn, in the State of 4lred Iraser, p. 554, New York. That he is a member of the firm of C. M. Lampson & Co., of London, and has been a member of said firm for about thirteen years; prior to that time he was in the employ of said firm and took an active part in the management of the business of said firm in London. That the business of C. M. Lampson & Co. is that of merchants, engaged principally in the business of selling fur skins on commission. That for about twenty-four years the firm of C. M. Lampson & Co. have sold the great majority of the whole number of seal skins sold in all the markets of the world. That while he was engaged in the management of the business of said firm in London he had personal knowledge of the character of the various seal skins sold by the said firm, from his personal inspection of the same in their ware- house and from the physical handling of the same by him. That many hundred thousands of the skins sold by C. M. Lampson & Co. have physically passed through his hands; and that since his residence in this country he has, as a member of said firm, had a general and de- tailed knowledge of the character and extent of the business of said firm, although since his residence in the city of New York he has not physically handled the skins disposed of by his firm. John Fratis, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 47 years of age and was born on the Ladrone Islands. I can speak the English, Russian, and Spanish lan- Jokn Fratis, p. 107. guages, and I understand the “ Aleut” as it is spoken by the natives of St. Paul Island, Alaska. I came to St. Paul Island in 1869, and married a native woman and became one of the people; was made a native sealer and have resided here ever since. From 1859 to 1869 I was employed on whaling vessels working in Bering and Okhotsk seas and the Arctic Ocean. I have been along the coast of Bering and Okhotsk seas, and along the coast of Alaska in the North Pacific Ocean from Sitka to Unalaska. I have worked on the sealing grounds at everything there is to do, from driving to clubbing, and preparing the skins for shipment. Thomas Frazer, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a native of England, and am 50 years old; have been seven- teen years in the United States, of which Lama Thos, Frazer, p. 364. citizen. I am a resident of Port Towsend, and 22 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. have resided in this vicinity during the past seventeen years. My occupation is that of seaman, and I have hunted seals off Cape Flattery for sixteen years. In 1891 Iwas a hunter on board the James G. Swan, of Port Townsend. William Frazer, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 22 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. My oc- Wm. Frazer, p. 426. cupation is that of a laborer. I have made three trips to the Northern Pacific and Bering Sea within the last six years. My first trip was on the Charles Wilson, of which Capt. Robert Turner was master, and the next was in the Van- derbilt, and the last was in the C. G. White. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?’—A. My Edward W. Funcke, p. name is Edward W. Funcke; age, 27; residence, 427. at San Francisco; occupation,seal hunter. (. Are you a citizen of the United States?—A. No; I am not. @. What State are you a resident of ?—A. California. @. Have you been engaged in catehing seals in the Pacific and Ber- ing Sea, and for how long?—A. For the last five years; yes. John Fyfe, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in San Francisco. My occupation is that of a sealer. John I'yfe, p. 429. I made a sealing voyage to the North Pacific and Bering Sea on the schooner Alexander, of which David McLean was master. I was a boat-puller. Nicholi Gadowen, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am second chiet of the Killisnoo Indians; am 50 years old; Nicholi Gadowen, p. 249.born at Killisnoo and have lived there all my life; am by occupation a herring fisherman, Have never killed a fur seal in my life. * * * I visit the difterent parts of the sound with my tribe when they are making oil. Frank M. Gaffney, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 31 years old, an American citizen and master of Frank M. Gaffney, p. 430.the schooner Hancock, owned by Lynde & Hough, of San Francisco. Iam now, and have been since 1879, engaged in fishing and seal hunting. In 1885 I made a voyage to the Galapagos Islands as master of the schooner Dashing Wave, arriv- ing there on the 30th of August and remaining until the 8th day of December of the same year. * * * During the past winter I have made a second voyage as master of the schooner Hancock to the south- ern waters, in search of seals. * * * I have been sailing to the Alaska coast, chiefly to the Shumagin Banks, in the codfish trade since 1879, and as master of a vessel since 1883. I have made in all some twenty-five or thirty voyages, usually between April and October. George, the son of Klotz-klotz, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I belong to the Chilcat tribe of Indians and reside no on of Kloe- ot Chilcat; am about 35 years old. I trade with hacks ie the interior Indians and up the coast through Lynn Canal, and down the coast as faras Wrangeland Stikeen. Never killed a fur-seal in my lite. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 23 Chad George, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Neah Bay, and have lived there all my life; am 27 years old; have been a seal hunter ever since lwas Chad George, p. 365. a small boy. Have spent three seasons in Bering Sea. Forthe last eight years I have been engaged as hunter. Spent re three seasons in Bering Sea on the schooners Alfred Adams and ottie. Charles Gibson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 33 years old; was born in British Co- Chas. Gibson, p. 281. lumbia, and now live at Port Chester. I have hunted seal in canoes in Queen Charlotte Sound. Thomas Gibson, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I ama sailor and seal hunter by occupation. I reside in San Francisco. I have been engaged in sealing Thos. Gibson, p. 431. for ten seasons. My first voyage was about 1881, when I went out inthe San Diego, of which Capt. Baynard was master. We sailed from this port; I shipped as a hunter. * * * The next trip I made was in 1882, when I went out in the American schooner Lookout, of which Capt. Kelly was master. * * * In 1883 I went out in the American schooner Mary de Leo, of which Capt. Wentworth was master. * * * In 1884 I went out in the American schooner Alger. * * * Im 1885 I went in the English schooner Grace. In 1886 I went in the American schooner Alger. * * * In1887 I went in the English schooner Active. * * * In 1888 I went out in the English schooner Rosa Lee. * * * In 1890 I went out in the C. G. White. Henry A. Glidden, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Albion, in the State of New 4, 4. Glidden p. 109. York, am 61 years of age, a lawyer by profession, and am not in the employ of the United States Government. I was appointed special Treasury agent in char ge of the seal islands under Secretary Folger. On May 31, 1882, I arrived on St. Paul Island, and remained there until June 8, 1885, only returning once to the States to pass the winter of 188384. I was located the entire time on St. Paul Island. During my experience there I examined carefully the rookeries on the island, as was necessary in connection with my duties as special Treasury agent, and incidentally studied seal life on the islands. Charles J. Goff, of Clarksburg, W. Va., being duly sworn, deposes and says: Lam 45 years of Chas. J. Goff, p. 111. age. During the years 18389 and 1890 I occupied the position of special Treasury agent in charge of the Pribilof Islands. I was located on St. Paul Island, only visiting St. George Island occa- sionally. About the 1st of June, 1889, 1 arrived on St. Paul Island and remained there until October 12, 1889, when I returned to San Francisco for the winter. Again went to the islands in 1890, arriving there about the last week in*May and remaining until August 12, 1890. Since that time I have never been on the islands. My principal ob- servations as to seal life upon the islands were confined to St. Paul Island, as I only visited St. George Island occasionally. During my first year on the islands the Alaska Commercial Company was the lessee thereof, and during my second year the North American Commercial Company. 24 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Gonastut, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 30 years old. I was born at Kodiak and live at Yakutat and Gonastut, p. 238. belong to the Yakutat tribe of Indians. Am a hunter by occupation. Have killed a few fur-seal. James Gondowen, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am 30 years old; born at Killisnoo and reside at Sitka. Am Jas. Gondowen, p. 259. by occupation a hunter, hunting seal every sum- mer and deer every winter since I was a siall boy. Hunted one season on schooner Sitka. Have hunted seal between Sitka and Cross Sounds. Kassian Gorloi, a native and resident of Atka, 56 years of age, be- ing duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam chief of Kassian Gorloi, p. 212. the native settlement at Atka, and have lived on this and neighboring islands all my life. [Tama hunter of sea-otter and foxes by occupation, and have never hunted the fur-seal as a regular thing. George Grady, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 28 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. My Geo. Grady, p. 433. occupation is that of cook on board of vessels. I went to the Bering Sea in 1889 upon the Laura, from Victoria, as a cook. BH. M. Greenleaf, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I have resided in Victoria, British Columbia, since 1884. My E. M. Greenleaf, p. 324. occupation is that of a seafaring man and have a commission a8 master mariner. Was shipping agent in this port for three years. In 1891 I went on a sealing cruise as master of the schooner Mountain Chief. * * * Iwas interested in the schooner Sarah W. Hunt, that made a voyage from New York to the South Atlantic in 188283 on a sealing venture. * * * Since then I have been interested in the sealing business, and am well ac- quainted with it, and the men engaged in it and the methods they em- ploy. Iam acquainted with the hunters and masters who sail from this port, and board all incoming and outgoing vessels of that class. Nicoli Gregoroff, Peter Adungan, Pavel Shimeakin, Anton Kalishni- os koff, Avakoon Kalishnikoff, Miron Aliman, Ti- Nicoli Gregorofet al., mofe Chayha, Afanasse Malick, Marka Koosche p. 234, eRe ; ’ ’ Giorgi Agooklook, Gregory Aogay, Makar, Choo- movitsky, Yakoff Abakoo, and Evan Choomovitsky, being duly sworn, depose and say: We are natives of Alaska, and reside at Port Etches, Prince William Sound, Alaska, and have lived in the Territory all of our lives. -We are hunters of fur-bearing animals, and are well ac- quainted with the coast line of this region. Arthur Griffin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: My age is 24 years, and am by occtpation a seafaring man and Arthur Griffin, p. 325. Yreside at Victoria, British Columbia. On Febru- ary 11, 1889, I sailed from Victoria, as a boat-pul- ler, on the sealing schooner Ariel. * * * On January 10, 1890, I sailed from Victoria as a beat-steerer in the schooner Sea Lion. * * * I went out sealing again the saine year on the #. B. Marvin, * * * I shipped as 2, boat-stecrer, ee THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 25 James Griffin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 22 years old, and live inSan Francisco. I hunted seal last year in the schooner La Nympha as boat-puller. James Griffin, p. 433, W. P. Griffith, being duly sworn, deposes and says he is American born, and has been engaged in sealing during the present season on the schooner Laborador, of Van- W. P. Griffith, p. 260. couver, British Columbia, in capacity of hunter. Joseph Grymes, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in Victoria. My occupation is that of a seaman. I made a sealing voyage onthe schooner Triumph Joseph Grymes, p. 434. in 1890, as a boat-puller. A. J. Guild, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at the set- tlement known as Soldovoi, on Cooks Inlet, Alaska, and have lived at settlements along the 4. 7. Guild, p. 231. coast between Sitka and Cooks Inlet for the past eleven years. I ama miner by occupation, but formerly followed the sea. Iwas for two seasons employed by parties in Port Townsend, Wash., as a seaman on board of sealing schooners clearing from that place. Franklin L. Gunther, being duly sworn, says: I am 39 years of age, a citizen of the United States andaresident of the : cityof New York. For the past twenty-three years + ranklin L. Gunther, p. Ihave been with the firm of C. G. Gunther’s Sons, " ” and in 1876 I became a member of it. This firm has been in existence and done business in the city of New York under names very similar to its present name since the year 1820; it has always carried on a wholesale and retail fur business. It was one of the first firms to in- troduce seal-skin garments into the United States, and since 1857 it has constantly been engaged in placing them upon the market. It has been in the habit of buying annually in London from 2,000 to 6,000 Alaska fur-seal skins, and it has handled very many more. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Charles G. Hagman; age, 47; residence, San Francisco; occupation, seaman. Chas. G. Hagman, p. 435. Q. Are you an American seaman?—A, I am. Q. Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea?—A.. Yes, sir. Q. For how long a period ?—About eight years. Q. Have you been master of a vessel thus engaged?—A. Yes, sir. Charles J. Hague, a citizen of the United States of America, 53 years of age, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I re- side at Alameda, Cal., and am a master mariner Chas. J. Hague, p. 207. by occupation. I have been cruising steadily in Alaskan waters since the year 1878. I have sailed principally about various parts of the Aleutian Islands, as far west as Attu, to which island I have made about twenty trips from Unalaska, mostly in the Spring and fall of the year. Henry Haldane, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 33 years old; bornin British Columbia, Henry Haldane, p. 281. and now reside at New Metlakahitila. 26 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Martin Hannon, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Victoria, British Columbia. Iam by occupation Martin Hannon, p. 445. a Seal hunter. Have been engaged in sealing the last three years on the British schoohers Triumph, Walter Rich, Borealis, Umbrina, and the German schooner Adele. Alexander Hansson, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 34 years of age, a native of Sitka, Alaska, and Alex. Hansson, p. 116. Was educated in the public schools of California, and afterwards attended school six yearsin Lovisa, Finland, returning to the United States in 1875, when 18 years old. I immediately took service as second mate on the schooner Matthew Turner, and later on the steamer Dora, vessels ot the Alaska Commercial Com- pany sailing to Alaska, and was employed a greater part of the time, for two years and a half, in the Unalaska district. In 1886 I went to St. Paul Island of the Pribilof group, and have since remained there constantly from that time until August, 1891. I was employed there in various occupations in connection with sealing, but chiefly in hand- ling seal-skins and as as one of the “ killing gang,” and am familiar with every phase of the business. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is H. Harmsen; age, 38; residence, San H. Harmsen, p. 442. Francisco; occupation, mariner. Q. Are you an American citizen?—A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. “Certainly. Q. For how long a period?—A. Since 1877, Q. Have you been master of vessels thus engaged, or any officer in any official capacity?—A. Yes, sir; since 1880 I have been master. Alfred Harris, being duly sworn, says: I am 40 years of age, a citi- zen of the United States and a resident of the Alfred Harris, p. 529. city of New York. For twelve years prior to Feb- ruary 1, 1892, I was a member of the firm of Har- ris & Russak, which still does a large wholesale fur business in the city of New York. I am now associated with this firm in its business and have charge of its manufacturing department. I am authorized tosign the firm name to the annexed statement, and the reason why I sign it, instead of one of the partners, is that I have a much more intimate knowledge of all branches of the business than any one else. We are manufactur ers of furs of all kinds, and a large proportion of our busi- ness consists in the manufacture of seal- skin ar ticles. Between the years 1880 and 1890 we handled per annum on an average 12,000 fur- seal skins of the three catches. Between 1885 and 1890 we handled from 35,000 to 40,000 Alaska skins, which had been dressed and dyed in London. James Harrison, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Victoria, British Columbia, and am by occupation James Harrison, p.326. Seafaring man. I have had experience in the seal- hunting business, First went out sealing as boat- puller along the Northern Pacific coast about the 26th of June, 1891; sailed from Victoria, British Columbia, in the schooner Triumph, * * * I sailed again about February 12, 1892, in the same vessel. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 27 Jacob Hartlisnuk, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at and have lived in Yakutat all mylife. I belong to the Yakutat tribe of Indians. Iam nowavery Jacob Hartlisnuk, p. 239. old man. Iam by occupation a hunter. I have hunted sea-otter. but have never killed a fur-seal in my life. * * * I have traveled from Tey Bay to Sitka Sound, and met many Indians belonging to other tribes. Sam Hayikahtla, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Yakutat, and have lived there all my life. Am 49 years old. Have been hunting all my lite. Sam Hayikahtla, p. 239. Capt. J. M. Hays, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in San Francisco, and am by occupation master of a vessel. Have been in the employ of the Alaska J, M. Hays, p. 26. Commercial Company since 1881, and in the dis- charge of ny duties have visited annually, with one exception, the dif: ferent trading posts on the islands of the Aleutian Archipelago, and on the Alaskan coast in the Bering Sea, as far north as St. Michiels, and prior to 1890 I went annually to the seal islands in Bering Sea, and frequently visited the seal rookeries on the same. * * * Yam not now, nor never have been in the employ of the present lessees of the seal islands. Charley Hayuks, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a resident of this village and is chief of police of same. He certifies that the evidence given by Charley Hayuks, p. 312. Weckenunesch is correct. * * * [Charley Hayuks understands and speaks English fairly well.] James Hayward, being duly sworn, deposesand says: My ageis 32 years; I reside at Victoria, British Columbia; oc- cupation, seaman. I went on a sealing voyage James Hayward, p. 327. in 1887 as boat-steerer on the American schooner Vanderbilt. * * * Jn 18881 wentin the American schooner Chas. D. Wilson * * * as boat-steerer. * * * In 1890 I went in an American schooner (I can not give her name) as boat-steerer. * * * In 1891 I went as boat-steerer in the American schooner City of San Diego. . Capt. M. A. Healy, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a citizen of the United States. I am now and have been for the last twenty-five years an officer M. A. Healy, p.2/. in the United States Revenue Marine Service, and have been on duty nearly all the time in the waters of the North Pacific, Bering and Arctic Seas. For the past six years I have been in com- mand of the United States revenue steamer Bear, prior to which time I had command of the United States revenue steamer Corwin for six years; both of which vessels were employed almost exclusively in navi- gating the waters of Bering Sea, guarding the seal islands, and pro- tecting the seals found in those waters from destruction by poaching vessels engaged in what is known as pelagic sealing. My first voyage was made to the seal islands in 1869, and I have cruised annually for the last twelve years in the Alaskan waters about the Pribilof Islands up to the present time. My official position and the character of my 28 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. employment, as well as natural inclination, has given me an oppor- tunity for familiarizing myself with the character of the fur-seal in- dustry and the habits of the seals , and has also brought me in contact with many people engaged in the huntin g of the fur-seals, and of the general methods employed in catching them. Max Heilbronner, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am the secretary of the Alaska Commercial Company Max Heilbronner, p.509. Of San Francisco, and as such have custody of all accounts of said company. John A. Henriques, of New London, Conn., being duly sworn, deposes and says: Lam 65 years of age, and a captain in J. A. Henriques, p.31. the U.S. Revenue Marine, and have been in the service for twenty-nine years. In the fall of 1868 T was ordered to Sitka, and in the spring of 1869 received instructions to proceed at once with the revenue steamer Lincoln to Bering Sea in order to protect the seal life from depredations, information having been received that seal-skins had been taken from the Pribilof Islands by unauthorized persons during the previous season. On the 4th of May, 1869, I left Sitka for Kodiak; on the 13th of May I left Kodiak pursu- ant to order S, with 14 men of the Second Artiller y and the commissioned ofiicer, Lieut. Mast. Thence proceeded to the Pribilof Islands, touching at Unalaska. On May 22 I landed a portion of the troops and Lieut. Barnes, of the Revenue Service, with rations and stores, on St. Paul Is- jand, one of the Pribilof group. The troops were here landed for the purpose of enforcing the United States statute providing for the protec- tion of seal life. Lieut. Barnes had charge of St. Paul Island, and no seals were allowed to be killed, except a sufficient number for the food of the natives, and these were to be killed only under the direction of said Lieut. Barnes. After landing I called the natives together, and through an interpre- ter informed them of the purport of the orders and directions of the Treasury Department in relation to the island and the natives readily agreed to follow sueh instructions. I had heard from the natives that seals were very timid, and thereupon ordered all the dogs on theisland to be killed, which order was executed within ten minutes after it was given. I further asked the natives to surrender all firearms in their possession until the close of the sealing season, so that the sound of the firing of the same might not disturb the seals; this also they im- mediately did. During the time I was on the island I particularly noticed the care that the natives took not to disturb the seal rookeries, even warning some of our party from the use of tobacco in any form in the neighborhood of such rookeries. On May 24th I landed Lieut. Henderson, of the Revenue Marine, on St. George Island with the re- mainder of the troops, their stores and equipments. Lieut. Henderson was vested with the same authority on St. George Island that Lieut. Barnes had on St. Paul Island. Here I also had an interview with the natives as onSt. Paul Island, and they too, readily complied with the orders in relation to dogs and the use of firearms above stated. Every precaution that was possible was taken by the Government officers to protect the seal life on the islands and also to prevent the breeding rookeries from being disturbed in any way. Q. Whatis your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is William Henson; Iam 30 years old; I reside Wm. Henson, p. 482. in this city; L have been occupied in seal-hunting for about eight years. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 29 Q. Are you a citizen of the United States?—A. Yes, sir. Q. What State are youa resident of?—A. The State of Califor nla. William S. Hereford, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I ain 39 years of age, and ama physician. I hold the degree of B.8S., Santa Clara College, S. J., W. 8. Hereford, p. 32. year 1874, also a regular graduate of the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, year 1877; am a regu- lar practitioner of medicine and surgery. I entered the service of the Alaska Commercial Company, August, 1880, for the purpose of being one of the resident physicians on the seal islands, and was continuously in their employ until May, 1890, at which time I went into the employ of the North American Commercial Company in the same capacity until the latter part of August, 1891, having left by resignation. Iwas in the service of the Alaska Com- mercial Company almost ten years and with the North American Com- mercial Company about fifteen months, and had a total connection with the seal islands a little over ten years. Seal and seal life being the only and all-absorbing topic of conversation, business, food, ete., equally with the natives as ourselves, one naturally becomes almost as familiar with the fur-seals and their habits as a farmer would with those of the cattle and horses on his farm, or a hunter of the animals by whom he is surrounded in the woods, and by the killing of which he gains a live- lihood, both as a means of sustenance and article of commerce. In my capacity of physician and surgeon to the sealing companies, i. e., the Alaska Commercial Company and the North American Com- mercial Company, I was stationed the first year, 7. e., 1880 and 1881, at St. George Island, and in 1881 and 1882 at Unalaska, at which time my duties required me to sail from Unalaska to Attu, Belkofskie, Atka, Unga, etc. Ihave been from Kadiak to Attu and have visited the way places between those points. I have also in the same capacity ae three trips to St. Michaels, Norton Sound, one of which trips on account of the ice carried me over on to the Russian coast and as far north as the Bering Straits. I have also visited St. Matthews Island, though never having landed, passed by St. Lawrence Island, etc. After 1882 I was at St. Paul Island, with the exception of my vacations in San Francisco, Cal., until 1890 and 1891, when I was again placed on St. George Island. My knowledge is from personal observation and experience, as well as from conversation with the natives, having be- come more or less intimately acquainted with the language spoken by the natives of the islands. William Hermann, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am by occupation a seal and otter hunter. My present residence is in San Francisco. I have been en- Wm. Hermann, p. 445. gaged in seal and otter hunting eleven years in the Okhotsk Sea and the North Pacific. Emin Hertz, being duly sworn, deposes and says as follows: That he is 42 years of age “and a naturalized citizen of the French Republic; that he lives in the city of Lmin Hertz, p. 587. Paris and is a member of the firm of Emin Hertz & Cie.; that he has been enga ged in the fur business for eighteen years, during which time he has been in the habit of purchasing seal-skins; . that he has personally handled many thousands of said fur-seal skins, and that hehas a general and detailed knowledge of the history of the 30 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. business of dealing in fur skins in the city of Paris, and the character and difference which distinguish the several kinds of skins which are on the market. That the said firm of Emin Hertz & Cie has existed for ten years, be- ing the successors of Goetze & Cie., who were established since 1873, trading in furs generally and dealing, ever since the establishment of the firm, in seal skins, undressed, dressed, and dyed; that their busi- ness is carried on at 11 Rue Dieu, in said city of Paris. Arthur Hirschel, being duly sworn, says: I am 39 years of age, a sritish subject, and a resident of London, Eng- Arthur Hirschel, p. 563. land. I am and for the past twenty years have been a member of the firm of Hirschel & Meyer, which transacts a general fur business at London, with branch estab- lishments at Paris, Leipzig, Moscow, Shanghai, and elsewhere. About one-tenth part of the firm’s business consists in dealing in fur-seal skins, of which about 15,000 are annually bought byit. Lam familar with the character and extent of the fur-seal industry in London, and LI believe that the following data relating to it are correct. Norman Hodgson, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at Port Townsend, State of Washington, and am a Norman Hodgson, p. 366. tur-seal hunter by occupation. I have engaged in that pursuit four seasons, in the years 1587, 1888, 1889, and 1891. I sailed in vessels clearing from Port Townsend two seasons, and in others from Victoria, British Columbia, for two seasons. Andrew J. Hoffman, p. QQ. What is your name, age, residence, and aa occupation 2—A. My name is Andrew J. Hoff- man; age, 24; residence, San Francisco; occu- pation, seal-hunter. @. Are you a citizen of the United States?—A. I am. (. What State are you a resident of ?—A. The State of California. (). Have you been engaged in catching seals in the Pacific and Bering Sea, and for how long?—A. I have been engaged in sealing there for three years last past. KE. Hoftstad, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Sitka. My present occupation is that of a seal-hunter, E. Hofstad, p. 260. Am at present mate of the sealing schooner Clara, of Sitka. Have hunted seal in the North Pacific Ocean for the past three years. O. Holm, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at What- com, Wash. I am part owner of the sealing E. Holn, p. 368. schooner Challenge, and was on board of her last season in Bering Sea. Edward Hughes, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 52 years of age, and I was born in Wales. Iam a citizen Edward Hughes, p.36. Of the United States, where I have resided for thirty-five years, of which twenty-eight years have been spent in Alaska. For eighteen years I have been cook or stew- ard on board vessels doing business in the North Pacifie and in Bering Sea, along the entire coast of Alaska from Sitka to Norton Sound and et er ei et es ie. See THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 31 all along and around the Aleutian Islands as far west as Attu Island, and also along the coast of Siberia as far as Plover Bay. In all those years I have met and talked with hunters, trappers, traders, and miners, whose business called them into Alaskan waters. * * * I have been steward and cook at the company’s house for the lessees since 1882. Imihap, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 65 years old, and a resident of Aguis. Certifies evidence, ., 308 given by Dick or Ehenchesut to be true. a age Alferd Irving, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam about 46 years old, and am a native Makah Indian, and re- side on the Neah Bay Reservation, State of Alferd Irving, p 386. Washington, United States of America. My oc- cupation is hunting and fishing, and I am one of the headmen of my tribe. Iam master and one-half owner of the schooner Mary Parker. I have been engaged in hunting seals ever since I was old enough, Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Gustave Isaacson; age, 46: residence, San Francisco; occupation, hunting seals. Q. Are you an American citizen?—A, Yes, sir. @. Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea?—A, Yes, sir. Q. For how long a period?—A. I have been principally occupied in otter hunting at the beginning of the seasons; atshort intervals I have been sealing. Q. For how many years?—A. Since 1872; but principally from the other side, the Okhotsch Sea side; since 1884 on this side. Q. Have you been master of vessels thus engaged?—A. Yes, sir; for eight years on the Japan side, and one year on this side. Gustave Isaacson, p. 439. Ishka, being duly sworn, deposes and says: My age is about 60 years. Iam a native Indian of the Makah tribe, and reside on the reservation at the Neah Bay Ishka, p.387. Agency, in the State of Washington, United States of America. I am by occupation a fisherman. I have hunted seals along the coast ever since I was old enough to do so. Victor Jacobson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 31 years of age, by occupation a seal hunter. I reside at Victoria, British Columbia. Iam a British sub- Victor Jackobson, p. 328. ject. Have been engaged in sealing for eleven years; ten years as master. Am now master and owner of schooner Mary Hllen and owner of schooner Minnie. I have sealed from Colum- bia River along the coast, north and west, to the Aleutian Islands, pas- sages, and in Bering Sea. Hugo Jaeckel, being duly sworn, says: I am 44 years of age, a citi- izen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York. Iam the present owner of the Hugo Jaeckel, p. 530. business which, since the year 1878, has been car- ried on in the city of New York under the name of Asch & Jaeckel. I have been in the fur business since I was 16 years old, and am now en- gaged in the wholesale manufacture of furs. I do a large business in fur-seal skins, and between 1885 and 1890 annually. oe THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE, James Jamieson, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 23 years old, and am by occupation a seaman; I re- Jas. Jamicson, p. 329. Side at Victoria, British Columbia. In March, 1887, [ joied the British sealing schooner Mary Taylor. * * * Wewent ona cruise for seal; I was a boat puller. * * * Tn January, 1888, I joined the Mountain Chief. * * * I was mateon this vessel. In January, 1889, I shipped as a boat steerer on the British sealing schooner Theresa. * * * In January, 1890, I shipped as a boat steerer on the sealing schooner Mollie ‘Adams. * * * Jn January, 1891, I shipped as a seaman on the British seal- ing schooner Mascot. * * * T lett the Mascot and joined the British schooner Venture. * * * Ishipped as a seaman and hunter on the British schooner Venture. * * * In February, 1892, I joined the British sealing schooner Minnie. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Frank Johnson; age, 33; occupation, master Frank Johnson, p. 440. eae residence, San Francisco. Q. Are you an American citizen?—A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. Yes, sir. Q. For how long a period?—A. About ten years, off and on. I have been otter hunting some years; about half. Q. Have you been master of vessels thus engaged?—A. No, sir; this will be my first time this year, Q. What position did you occupy?—A. Hunter and mate two years. J. Johnson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside on Douglas Island, Alaska. Ihave spent six years of my life Johnson, J. p. 381. sealing. I have been sailing master of the schooner San Diego, the Penlope of Victoria, the Ada winder the German flag, the Roscoe of San Francisco. Have been either master, mate, or hunter on all these vessels. Jack Johnson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 39 years old, and was born at Tongrass, and now live at Jack Johnson, p. 282. Wrangel. Ama hunter by occupation, and have hunted fur-seal in Queen Charlotte Sound, using shotguns exclusively. Selwish Johnson, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am about 30 years old; am a native Makah Indian, and re- Selwish Johnson, p. 888. side at Neah Bay, on the Indian Reservation, State of Washington, United States of America. My occupation is that of hunting and fishing. I have been engaged in catching seals ever since I was old enough to do so, and have always hunted with a spear. Johnnie Johntin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I belong to Klawak, where I was born. Am now living at Johnnie Johniin, p.282. Shakan. Am by occupation ahunter; have been hunting seal and land animals since a boy; have always hunted seal off Prince of Wales Island in spring and early sum- mer. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. oo Personally appeared before me, Thomas N. Molloy, consul of the United States of America for Newfoundland, James Glavine Joy, master mariner of St. Johns, Jas. G. Joy, p. 591. aforesaid, who being duly sworn before me, upon his oath says: I have been twenty-four years prosecuting the seal fishery on the coasts of Newfoundland, Labrador, and Gulf of St. Law- rence, nine years of which I have commanded a steamer. Kah-chuck-tee, being duly sworn, deposes, and says: I am the chief of the Huchenoos. I am a pretty old man. I[ don’t do anything; am the gentleman of my tribe. Kah-chuck-tee, p. 248. My tribelive by catching herring, from which they make oil, and dispose of it to the Indians of other tribes, which come here in large numbers. I have visited all the inlets and islands in Chatham Sound and other parts of Alaska as far as Sitka. Percy Kahiktday, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am 48 years old; was born at and reside in Sitka. Have hunted seal every summer since I was a small boy. P. Kahiktday, p. 261. Have never been to Bering Sea. Samuel Kahoorof, a native of Attu Island, 52 years of age, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Tam a hunter of the sea-otter and blue fox, and have lived in this sami. Kahoorof, p. 214. vicinity all my life. Have never hunted the fur- seal. Our hunting grounds are about Attu, Agattu, and the Semichi Islands. Philip Kashevaroff, being duly sworn, deposes and says. Am 47 years old; born at and reside in Sitka. Am by occupation a mariner, The last year | spenthunt- Pp, Kashevaroff,, p. 261. ing seal on the schooner Allie Alger. Kaskan, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I belong to the Chil- cat tribe of Indians. I have traded with other tribes up Lynn Canal and as far north as the Kaskan, p. 247, Yukon River, and down the coast as far as Wran- gel. King Kaskwa, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Howkan, and reside there. Have lived there all my life, and am now a very old man, about 65 King Kaskwa, p. 295. years old. My occupation is that of a hunter, Have hunted fur-seals thirteen years or more. Have always hunted them in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island between March and June, Jim Kasooh, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Howkan and have lived there all my life. Am about 45 years old. Iam by occupation ahunter. Jim Kasooh, p. 296. Have hunted fur-seal for eight years. Always hunted in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island in May and June. 3BS 34 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. James Kean, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: T reside in Vietoria, British Columbia; my occupation is that Jas. Kean, p. 448. ofa seaman and seal hunter. I first went seal-. hunting in 1889 on the schooner Oscar and Hattie. * * * Jn 1890 1 went out in the Walter Rich. Albert Keetnuck, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Tam 27 years old. Was born and live at Killisnoo. Make her- Albert Keetnuek, p. 250, ving oil, cut wood, and grow potatoes and turnips. The herring oil Tmake I sell to other Indians, and the potatoes and turnips LI dispose of to the white men around the sound, and sell the wood to the fish company. My business ealls me away from this place to the different inletsand islands around Chatham Sound. * * * The Indians who buy my fish oil belong to tribes who live long distances away. James Kennedy, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam now residing in San Francisco. My occupation Jas. Kennedy, p.449. 18 that of a sailor. LI went to the North Pacific and Bering Sea on the schooner Maggie Ross, of which Captain Olsen was master, in the early part of May, 1884. I shipped as a boat-puller. Mike Kethusdueck, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am 50 years old: was born at and reside in Sitka; am by oe- Mike Kethusduck, p.262.cupation a hunter; have hunted seals every sea- son since L was a small boy, George Ketwooschish, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am 30 years of age: born in and have lived at Killisnoo Geo. Keiwooschish, p.251.all my lite. Belong to the Thlinket tribe of In- dians. lama herring fisherman by occupation. IT make herring oil which I sell to the people of other tribes along the coast. They come a long distance to buy it of me. I visit all the is- lands and rocks in following my business, in Chatham Sound. Kickiana, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 20 years of age: is a native of Sechart village, and a son Kickiana, p. 306. of Clat-ka-koi. Last vear he went north in the shooner Ariel, and spent one and one-half months in Bering Sea. [Kickiana understands and speaks English fairly well.] James Kiernan, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam a master mariner by profession, and a resident of Jas. Kiernan, p. 449. Calitornia. I have been engaged in seal hunting since 1845. My first voyage was trom Newport, R. 1. to the east coast of South America, at Lobos Island. off the mouth of the river Platte, at Castillos Island. and on the east coast of Patagonia. Afterwards I went to the Falkland Islands, to the South Shetland Islands, and to the west coast of Patagonia. In those days we killed the seals on land with clubs, but all those rookeries have since been destroved through the constant hunting of the seals. Afterwards I eame to California and made my first seal-hunting voyage in the North Pacitie in 1868, and in more recent years in Bering Sea. Ihave given much attention to the study of seal life, as well as to the methods of THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE, 3D hunting in the sea, and the consequent effect of this upon the possible extermination of the seal. * * * The last vessel I went out in was the Sophie Sutherland, during the season of 1891. IL went as sailing master, Louis Kimmel, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a resident of Lafayette, Ind., and am 63 years of age. Dur- ing the years 1882 and 1883 was the assistant Louis Kimmel, p, 17 Treasury agent, located on the St. George Island, of the Pribilof group. I arrived on the island May 3 mee and re- mained there continuously until the latter part of July, 188: While on the island I studied the habits of the fur- seals in order that Imight be able to perform my official duty. 1C2 Francis Robert King-Hall, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a subject of Her Br itannic Majesty, late of the | . Eleventh Hussars, a son of Sir William King- pa Sa a le Hall, kK. ¢. B., admiral in the British navy. Lam war 35 years of age, a journalist by profession, residing in New York City. In 1891, as a correspondent of the New York Herald, I was detailed to investigate into the methods of pelagic sealing. IL proceeded to Victo- ria, arriving about the 25th of June, and procured passage on board the sealing schooner Otto. Kinkooga, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Yalk- utat and have lived there all my life. Lam about 40 years old, I think. By occupation I am a _— Kinkooga, p. 240. hunter; have killed a few fur-seal in my life. Charlie Klananeck, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Sitka, and am now a very old man; have | lived at Wrangle twenty years; have been a mae TTA hunter all my life. A long time ago I hunted seal with a spear, but of late years have used the shotgun. James Klonacket, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Klinquan, and have lived at Howkan a great many years. [Iam now a veryold man and ama _ Jas. Klonacket, p. 283, hunter by occupation; have hunted fur-seal for twelve seasons off Prince of Wales Island. Konkonal, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am one of the headmen of the tribe of Neltuskin village; am 60 years of age; was born at and have lived at Konkonal, p. 251. Killisnoo all my life; have always made it my business to catch herring and make oil, which I have disposed of to Indians of other tribes, who come a long distance to buy it. Robert Kooko, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born in Victoria, British © ‘olumbia; moved from Victoria to Howkan, Alaska, when I was a small boy; Lobert Kooko, p. 296 have hunted fur-seal for three years in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island in the month of May. Frank Korth, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at Port Etches, Prince W iliam Sound, Alaska, and have lived in the Territory for the last eight years. I Frank Korth, p. 235, am the agent for a fur-trading company at this 36 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. place, but never had any personal experience in fur-seal hunting. I am, however, well acquainted with the coast of Alaska from Prince William Sound to Unimak Pass. Jacob Kotchooten, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a na- tive of St. Paul Island, Alaska, and I am 40 years Jacob Kotchooten, p. 131of age. Lam anative sealer, and have worked among seals on St. Paul Island all my life. John Kowineet, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Am 48 years old; born at and reside in Sitka; occupation, a John Kowineet, p.263. hunter; have hunted seals every season since | can remember. C. F. Emil Krebs, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Tama native of Libau, Russia, 49 years old, ‘and an C.F. Emil Krebs, p. 194. Americ an citizen,duly naturalized,and a resident of San Francisco, Cal. I tirst went to Alaska in 1869 for the American-Russian Commercial Company of San Fran- cisco, and was stationed at Atka as a fur-trader, where I remained two vears. In 1871 I entered the service of Hutchinson, Kohl & Co., lessees from Russia of the right to take seals upon the Commander Islands, and was placed in charge of Copper Island of this group, and so remained constantly tor ten years, until 1881, without once Jeaving my post of duty. In this position the habits of the seals, the condition of the rookeries, the best methods of obtaining seal-skins for market, and, in general, everything in and about the business of my employers on the island, received my careful and constant attention. Personally appeared before me, Ivan Krukott, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 46 years of age, a native Ivan Krukogf, p. 208. of the Aleutian Ish inds, and have lived in the vil- lage of Makushin all my life. Nicoli Krukoff, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 43 years of age, and was born at Sitka, Alaska. I can Nicoli Krukogf, p. 182. read and speak the Russian, Aleut, and English languages. I came to St. Paul Island in 1869, and have been here ever since, constantly employed among the fur seals, and I have had daily experience in all the branches of the busi- ness, from driving the seal to preparing the skins tor shipment, and I am at present the second chief on St. Paul Island, to which position I Was appointed in Ls91. Aggie Kushin, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born at Simshoe, Kurile Islands, and am 37 years of age. Aggie Kushin, p.128. Leameto St. Paul Island in 1867, and have resided here ever since. LI canread and write in the Rus- sian and Aleut languages, and am able to interpret the one into the other; and I geen: and the English language fairly well. At present and for several years past I am assistant priest in the Greek Catho- lie Church. My oceupation on the island is that of native sealer, and I have been such since 1870. I have a thorough knowledge of the taking of fur seals tor skins in all its details as it has been done on St. Paul Island since 1870, THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE, 37 Olaf Kvam, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside on Green Island, in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and have lived in the Territory for the ‘last 10 years. Olaf Kvam, p. 235. IT am a mariner by occupation, but of late years have been engaged in hunting fur-bearing animals. George Lacheek, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Ain 40 years of age; born at and live in Sitka. Ain by oceupa- tion seal-hunter in summer and deer-hunter in George Lacheck, p. 264. winter. Have hunted seal every season since a small boy. Have always hunted off Sitka Sound. James Laflin, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 60 years of age. I have resided in San Francisco ; i the last forty-two years. I am by occupation 72% 24% p. 451. shipping agent for the last fifteen years, and fit out all the whaling fleet that leave this port. All the men go through my office. Have fitted out forty-seven whalers this year and have three more in port to be fitted out. I also fit out sealing schooners—about twelve to four- teen each year. I have also owned one-third interest as managing owner in two sealing vessels. I handle and pay off over 1,600 seamen each year in the whaling fleet alone. Lalso handie and ship a great many men on the sealing vessels. I often converse with the masters of the vessels relative to the fur seal. Andrew Laing, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 42 years of age; residence, Victoria, British Columbia; occupation, trader. I went out as trader on the iP. aa of which I was part owner, in the years of 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1889, and 1890. In 1888 I went as mate on the Favorite, my boat having been seized the year before by the revenue cutter Rush, but was finally released, so that I went in her again in 1889 and 1890. * * * Prior to 1886 I nor my vessel had ever been in the Bering Sea hunting, but had cruised along the coast each year from the Columbia River to Kadiak Island, and then returned to Vie- toria and had caught seals in greater or less numbers each year; but in 1886 and each year thereafter, excepting 1891, | have not only sealed on the coast, but have also been in the Bering Sea hunting seals. My vessel went to the Bering Sea in 1891, but I did not go with her. Andrew Laing, p. 334. Sir George Curtis Lampson, baronet, being duly sworn, doth depose and say: (1) That he is 58 years of age and a sub- ‘ ject of Her Britannic Majesty. That heisthe son sirG.c. Lampson, p. 564. and successor of the late Sir Curtis Lampson, baro- net, who founded the house of C. M. Lampson about the year 1830, That deponent is at the present time the head of the firm of C. M. Lampson & Co., doing business at 64 Queen street, in the city of London. That the business of said firm is that of commission merchants, engaged in selling and in buying on commission fur skins of various kinds. That his said firm now handle and for many years last past have handled a greater number of skins of fur-seals than all the other firms in the world put together, and that he has a general knowledge of the char- acter of the business of buying and selling fur-seal skins. That his partner, Mr. Emil Teichmain, has a more detailed and technical knowl- edge of the business than deponent, and can depose in respect to the technical aspects of the business in more detail and with greater ac- curacy than depoment would wish to do, 38 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. * * * Capt. A. W. Lavender, * * being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 49 years of age, a citizen of the A, W. Lavender, p. 265. United States, and a resident of Scotland, South Dakota. Iam now, and have been for two years past, employed as special agent of the Treasury Department, assigned to duty as agent in charge of St. George Island. Edward Nigh] Lawson, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I re- side at St. Pauls, Kadiak Island, Alaska, and have lived in the Territory for the past twelve years. T am a Sea-otter hunter by occupation and am well acquainted with the northwest coast from San Francisco to Unalaska. In the years 1878 and 1879 I was employed as a fur-seal hunter on board the schooners Favorite and Onward, respectively, both of Vic- toria, British Columbia; and in the years 1834 and 1885 I was engaged in the same capacity on the schooners Teresa and San Diego, respec- tively, both hailing from San Francisco, Cal. E. N. Lawson, p. 221. Isaac Lenard, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at Bel- kofsky, Alaska Territory. Ihave been a sea-otter Isaac Lenard, p. 217. unter for forty years, and have occasionally raided the Russia sea islands. James E. Lennan, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at Port Townsend, State of W: shington, and ain by occupation master and pilot of steam vessels in the waters of the Pacific Ocean coastwise to the Bering Sea. I have had eighteen years’ experience in the waters of Alaska, and am well acquainted with the Northwest Coast from San Francisco to Attu Is- land, including Bering Sea and its coast line. I have sailed as master of trading aud supply vessels for a number of years in Alaska, and in the year 1887 was master of a sealing schooner clearing from Victoria. Jas. EF, Lennan, p. 369. George Liebes, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: My age is 25. I reside in San Francisco, I ama furrier and dealer in dressed E and raw furs by occupation. Ihave been engaged George Liebes, p. 510. in that business for the last six years. Ihave been going to Victoria for the last two years for the purpose of buying both land and sea furs. In 1890 I examined 14,000 fur-seal skins that were brought down on a tender from Sand Point, Alaska. ; Herman Liebes, being duly sworn, says: First. That he is 50 years of age and resides in the city of San Francisco, Cal. Herman Liebes, p.512. That he has been in the fur business since he was 13 years of age, and established in his own busi- ness in San Francisco in the year 1864, That he first began to buy seal- skins in the year 1865. Isaac Liebes, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in San Franciseo, Cal. I am, and have been for the last twenty-three years, by occupation a fur mer- chant, during which time ] have handled more raw fur-seal skins than any other individual in the United States or Canada, and more than any firm or corporation except the lessees of the sealeries of the Pribilof and Commander islands. I claim to be thoroughly acquainted with all kinds of seal-skins, and from all the different localities, and can readily Isaac Liebes, p. 452 ss Le THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR. EXPERIENCE. 39 distinguish one from the other. I amalso thoroughly familiar with the mode of capturing the seals, both on land and in the water, and in hand- ling, packing, and shipping the skins. My business as a manufacturer of furs has also made me equally familiar with the dressed and dyed seal-skins. The greater part of the raw seal-skins which have passed through my hands were from seals captured at sea, and it is with this feature of seal-hunting that I am more especially familiar. I speak from personal observation and experience in describing the marine sealing fleet and the business of marine seal-hunting, Sidney Liebes, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: My age is 22, Ireside in San Francisco, and am by occupa- tion a furrier, having been engaged in that busi- Sidney Liebes, p. 516. ness for the last six years. I have made it my business to examine raw seal-skins brought to this city for sale, and am familiar with the different kinds of seal-skins in the market. I can tell from an examination of a skin whether it has been caught on the Russian or American side. James Lighthouse, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a na- tive Indian ‘of, Makah tribe, and reside at Neah Bay, on the Indian Reservation, in the State of Jas. Lighthouse, p. 389. We shington, United States of America. I am about 55 years of age, and my occupation is that of hunting and fish- ing. Jam the owner of the schooner C. C. Perkins. I have been en- gaged in sealing and fishing ever since I was old enough to do so. * * * Thave alw ays seale 1d in the Strait of San Juan de F uca, and around Cape Flattery, and up and down the coast from Barclay Sound to the Columbia River. I commenced going north to Barclay Sound about ten years ago. Caleb Lindahl, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 46 years of age. I reside in San Francisco. My oe- cupation is that of asealer. I first went sealing Caleb Lindahl, p. 456. in the Bering Sea in 1890 on the Mattie T. Dyer. I was employed as a hunter. E. W. Littlejohn, being duly sworn, deposes and saith: I reside at San Francisco, Cal. I am a sea-otter and seal hunter by occupation, and am now master of the 2. W. Littlejohn, p, 457. schooner Pearl, whichis engaged in sea-otter hunt- ing. Ihave had eight (8) years experience in this pursuit in the waters along the Alaskan « coast. John N. Lofstad, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 48 years of age. I reside i in San Francisco. Iam by occupation a dealer in furs and fur goods. I John N. Lofstad, p. 516. have been in the business for twenty-eight years, during which time I have bought large numbers of dressed and undressed fur skins, and I am thoroughly familiar with the business. William H. Long, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am by occupation a seaman, and have followed the sea for the last fifty years. I have been mate and Jriltiam H. Long, p. 457. master of vessels. For the last four years I have not been to sea. In 1885 I was hunter on board the schooner Lookout ; 40 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. in 1886 1 was mate of her; in 1887 I was master of her. I was engaged during these years in seal and otter hunting in the Bering Sea. Abial P. Loud, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a resident of Hampden, Me., and am 55 years of age. On Abial P. Loud, p. 87. April 4, 1885, I was appointed special assistant Treasury agent for the seal islands, and immedi- ately started for the islands, arriving at the island of St. Paulon May 28 or 30. Spent that season on St. Paul Island, and returned for the winter to the States, leaving the islands on the 18th of August. Went back again next spring, arriving there in the latter part of May, and remained until August, 1887, on St. Paul Island. Spent the season of 1888 and 1889 on St. George Island, returning in the fall of 1889 to the States. In 1889 I spent some time in the fall on St. Paul Island. On whichever island I was located I always kept careful watch and made frequent examination of the rookeries during this entire period. Thomas Lowe, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I speak the English language fairly well, and can interpret Thos. Lowe, p. 371. the Chinook and Indian languages, I am a half- breed Indian and belong to the Challam tribe, and am 30 years of age. I reside on Whidby Island, and am by occupation a hunter and have been engaged in hunting seals for the last eight years. I went to the Bering Sea in 1889, on the schooner James G. Swan, and again in 1891 on the schooner Lottie. These two seasons are the only ones in which [ have been in the Bering Sea. During the other seasons I sealed in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca and along the coast between the Columbia River and the northern end of Vancouver Island. Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Charles Lutjens; I am 50 years of age; I reside Chas. Lutjens, p. 458. in this city, and am by occupation a seal hunter. Q. Are you a citizen of the United States?— A. Yes, sir. Q. What State are you a resident of?—A. The State of California. Thomas Lyons, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in San Francisco. My occupation is that of a sea- Thos. Lyons, p. 460. Man. On the 24th of February, 1887, I left the port of Victoria, British Columbia, on a sealing voyage to the North Pacific and Bering Sea. I went on the schooner Triumph, of which Capt. Cox was master. I was engaged as a boat: puller. George McAlpine, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Juneau. Spent the last season on the Allie I. George McAlpine, p. 266. Alger, hunting seal, as boat-steerer. Charles E. McClennen, being duly sworn, says: I am 36 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident Charles E. McClennen, of Albany, in the State of New York. Iam a p. 517. director in the George C, Treadwell Comp ny, the corporation referred to in the affidavit of George H. Treadwell, verified this day. I have been in the fur business for about eight years, and during that time I have handled many fur-seal skins in all their conditions. THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 41 J. D. McDonald, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Sitka. Own and command the sealing schooner Adventure. Am by occupation a miner and hun- J. D. McDonald, p. 266. ter. Have been engaged in sealing two years. Have hunted from San Francisco to Kadiak. H. H. McIntyre, of Randolph, Orange County, Vt., on being duly sworn, deposes and says, concerning the fur-seals of Alaska, and matters relative thereto, as follows: 1. H. McIntyre, p. 40. I am a native of Vermont, 48 years old, com- missioner from Vermont to the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, ete. In the years 1868 and 1869 I was special United States Treas- ury agent, assigned to duty in Alaska, and from 1870 to 1889, inclusive, superintendent of the seal fisheries of Alaska for the lessees. I spent ten months as special Treasury agent, from November, 1868, to August, 1869, in inquiry concerning the fur-seal fisheries then recently acquired from Russia, with a view to advising the Government of the United States what disposition should be made of them, and to this end visited all the principal points along the northwest coast of the American con- tinent from Vancouver's Island to the most westerly island of the Aleutian Archipelago, the Pribilof group, and points along the Bering Sea coast. As superintendent of the seal fisheries I visited the seal islands twice in the summer of 1870; remained constantly thereon from April, 1871, until September, 1872, and thereafter went to the islands every summer from 1873 until 1889, inclusive, excepting 1883, 1884, and 1885. I usu- ally remained on the islands about four months, from May until August, in each season, supervising the annual seal catch, examining the condi- tions of seal life, studying the habits of the seals, and, in brief, doing such work as the interests of the lessees seemed to demand. I also went twice to London, first in 1872 and again in 1886, to attend the fur- seal trade sales, with a view to becoming more thoroughly acquainted with the demands of the seal-skin market. My duties as such special Treasury agent and superintendent demanded and received my atten- tion to every detail of seal life and its relation to commerce. In the execution of these duties I was constantly aided by able, intelligent assistants and native seal hunters, whose daily observations and reports were from time to time communicated to me. H. W. McIntyre, having been duly sworn, de- y, w, Memtyre, p. 134. poses and says: Iam an American citizen, a na- ; tive of the State of Vermont; my age is 57 years; Iam a resident of Vina, Tehama County, California, and by occupation general manager of Senator Leland Stanford’s Vina ranch and Palo Alto vineyard. Inthe year 1871 Lentered the service of the Alaska Commercial Company, and was assigned to duty at the Pribilof group of islands in Bering Sea, first in the capacity of chief mechanic, and later as resident agent in charge of the island of St. Paul. I left San Francisco for Alaska early in April of 1871, and arrived at St. Paul Island about the beginning of May the same year, on which island I resided continuously until the close of the sealing season of the year 1881, leaving there in the month of August, except that I was ab- sent on leave during a portion of the winter seasor in 1874, 1877, and 1880. During the period of my residence I visited the islands of St. 42 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. George, Unalaska, and other principal stations of the Alaska Commer- cial Company in Bering Sea and the North Pacific, and obtained through observation and from information very accurate knowledge of the fur- seals and their habits while upon or near the islands which constitute their breeding place. During my long and constant residence I became interested in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the people re- H. W. McIntyre, p. 138. siding upon the islands,and have since, through an extensive acquaintance with agents and em- ployés of the lessees, been constantly advised as to events transpiring there from year to year. William MelIsaac, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a sailor, and reside at San Francisco. I went to Wm. MelIsaac, p. 460. the Bering Sea in the American schooners A lex- ander and Otter in the years 1889 and 1890. * * * I was employed as boat steerer and puller. James McKeen, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside at Sitka, and am by occupation a seman and seal Jas. McKeen, p. 267. - hunter. Have been engaged in catching seals the last five years, most of the time as captain of a schooner. William McLaughlin, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I reside in’ San Francisco; my occupation is that Wm. McLaughlin, p.461.of a seaman. I shipped as a boat puller in 1886 on the schooner Triumph. * * * In 1887 1 went codfishing in the barkentine Premiwn to the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. * * * JT went to the Bering Sea onthe Maggie Ross from Vic- toria. * * * Ishipped as a boat puller. @. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My . hame is Alexander McLean; age, 32; residence, Alex, McLean, p. 436. San Francisco; occupation, master mariner. @. Are you an American citizen?—A,. Iam. (. Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. I have. . For how long a period?—A. Ten years. Q. Have you been master of vessels thus engaged?—A. I have been nine years in the sealing business. @. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation?—A. My bi, Ss name is Daniel MeLean; age, 43; occupation, Daniel McLean, p. 443. master mariner; residence, San Francisco. Q. Are you an American citizen?—A. Yes, sir. - (). Have you ever been engaged in the business of catching seals in the Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. Yes, sir. Q. For how long a period ?—Eleven years. (). Have you been master of vessels thus engaged ?—A. Eleven years. The undersigned, Robert H. McManus, of the city of Victoria, prov- ince of British Columbia, Dominion of Canada, Robt. H. MeManus, p. being duly sworn, saith: Iam about 49 years of 335. age, and have for some years past followed the calling of newspaper correspondent and writer. In 1889, at the time the British sealing schooners were seized in the THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 43 Bering Sea by the United States revenue cutters, I devoted some atten- tion to the sealing industry. Being acquaintedwith Mr. Walter Borns, through his being a boarder in my family, and who is largely identified with the sealing industry, I was by him earnestly solicited to accom- pany him on a sealing cruise on board his schooner Otto last season. Some time previously I had a severe attack of rheumatic gout, and was at the time of solicitation by Mr. Borns partially convalescent. I was advised that the voyage would tend towards the recovery of my health and the inducement of an opportunity to gain by personal observation all that could be learned of the seal-hunting question, which [ would be enabled to turn to pecuniary account as a newspaper correspondent, de- termined my acceptance of the proposal, although the pecuniary offer of Mr. Borns was merely trivial. I was very weak and feeble, and had to be assisted on board the vessel. Mr. F. King-Hall, correspondent of the New York Herald, was, with my consent, taken on board as a pas- senger. Thomas Madden, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I re- side in Victoria, British Columbia. My occupa- tion is thatofa seaman. Ihave been going tothe Thos. Madden, p. 462. Bering Sea over twelve years on whalers and sealers. I went sealing in 1888, 1889, 1890, and 1891 on the Black Dia- mond. We left Victoria along in January of each year. I was a boat puller. Edward Maitland, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I was born in British Columbia. I reside now in New Met- lakahtla. Am3lyearsold. [have beena hunter “dwd. Maitland, p. 284. all my life. Have hunted seal in a canoe; my lodge was on Dundas Island, and I hunted in Queen Charlottes Sound and Dixons Entrance. Makeshow, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a resident of this village and that the evidence given by yyaposhow p. 811. Weckenunesch is true. , John Malowansky, being duly sworn, deposes and says: I am a re- sident of San Francisco, Cal., and an American citizen, though a Russian by birth. Iam a mer- John Malowansky, p. 197, chant by profession, and am agent for the Rus- sian Sealskin Company, and was formerly, for many years, the agent for Hutchinson, Kohl, Phillipeus & Co., the former lessees of the Rus- sian seal islands. During the years 1869, 1870, and 1871 Tresided on the Commander Is- lands, in the pursuitof the sealing business, of which [had charge. Iwas there again in 1887 as the agent of the company. I formerly lived in Kamchatka, and frequently visited the Commander Islands between 1871 and 1887. [have also been a dealer in furs. lam well acquainted, from long experience and observation, with all matters pertaining to the sealing business and the present condition of the fur-seal trade, especially on the Russian side of the Bering Sea. James Maloy, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: Iam 50 years ofage. 1 reside in San Francisco. My oc- cupation is that of a seaman. I wasin the North Jas. Maloy, p. 463. Pacific and Bering Seain 1889. I went out in the Maggie Koss, which saiied from Victoria in the month of February. 44 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. Q. State your age and place of residence.—A. I am 34 years of age ,, and am a native and resident of St. Paul Island, Noen Mandregin, p. 189. 4 Jagk: a as ) lil (enero We iahewts sas ceM ewe 67 47 86 83 90 92 98 93 76 83 72 76 80.2 UBER gato canes 58 49 63 81 2 84 89 88 82 76 74 74 fas0) a Skt) ee 72 65 70 2 Ast) (SE oie Le 8 a | ene oO |e | S| |e | en ee ae SS Ore aa ares sre erat) mieia = anal rear ats Saal Scientia! (a Senate mercll saicmtete scteeied le ceeni|-a.. ancl awaenclccc oocllosetacee Seiler eminence oe cas eee Vers clement a *92 | 87 98 91 87 80 TOI aes eee MS Soieeincisis cise ace 82 79 57 | 66 97 91 98 99 98 96 92 90 87.1 1 ae eae Ne Gade a Ry og =” Men ng eta Ae ieces Ae ate el a SSUINIS sereieicacieisteteieic| <5 :-5 wie fas creme [Soca FESe el eer Actor Pemet Pee) eee Rameneemees eae eae! | cae meni (ea a See ale al een atte teens | See oe eee mera ence le eee eee ee eee eee eect ta. Sere ae So Cea ee ne * Twenty-six days. REMARKS.—The percentage of cloudiness was obtained from the eye estimates of the observer, re- corded on a scale of 0 to 10 at each observation, The mean of all observations was used as the mean for the day. One hundred per cent represents a sky completely overcast. HOME OF THE FUR-SEAL. Page 91 of The Case. We have never heard of, and have no knowledge of, fur-seal pups being born elsewhere than on the rookeries of the seal islands in Bering Sea, nor do we knowof any Jno. Alexandroff et al, rookeries other than those above mentioned: p. 229. I do not know of any rookery except those on the seal islands of the Bering Sea. Chas. Avery, p. 218. I have never seen any but a few straggling seals in Cook Inlet, and these only on rare occasions. I have never heard of any fur-seal rookeries in the North Pacifie other J. 4. Bradley, p. 227. than those on the sealislands of Bering Sea; and am positive that none exist in the vicinity of Cook Inlet. A Captain 6 Bes 82 THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Erratt, of San Francisco, last year induced parties of that place to fit out the schooner Lily LD. on the face of his positive statement that a fur-seal rookery existed in the vicinity of Cook Inlet. The enterprise was a total failure, however, no rookery being found, although a long and diligent search was made for it. Many explanations have been offered of the seals having selected these islands as theirhome. My observation does J. Stanley Brown, p. 11, not enable me to state their reason for having done so, but the fact remains substantiated by my rxperience and that of all others of whom inquiries were made that these eemote, rock-bound, fog-drenched islands are the chosen resort of the fur- bearing seal (Callorhinus ursinus). The more jagged and irregular the lava fragments that cover the shore, the more continuous the drenching they receive trom the moisture-laden atmosphere, the better the seals seem to like it. Neither from personal observation, from inquiries of the natives on the islands and the villages of the Aleutian chain, nor from questioning seafaring men, who, by opportunity for observation and general intelligence, were competent to inform me, could I learn of any other land area ever having been selected by this herd of fur-seal for its residence and for the perpetuation of its species. The Alaskan seals make their home on the Pribilof Islands because they need for the period they spend on land a Chas. Bryant, p. 4. peculiarly cool, moist, and cloudy climate, with very little sunshine or heavy rains. This pecu- liarity of climate is only to be found on the Pribilof and Commander islands, and during my long experience in the North Pacific and Bering Sea [ never found another locality which possessed these conditions so favorable to seal life. Add to this fact the isolated condition of the seal islands, and we can readily see why the seals selected this home. We have never known of fur-seal pups being born elsewhere than on the rookeries of the seal islands in Bering IvanCanctak et al., p.229, Sea. Neither have we any knowledge of the ex- istence of any fur-seal rookeries other than those above mentioned. Neither have I any knowledge of a fur-seal rookery existing any- Julius Christiansen, p. where except on the seal islands of Bering Sea. 219 a“ The Pribilof Islands are the chosen home of the fur-seal (Callorhinus ursinus). Upon these islands they are born; there W. H. Dall, p. 23. they first learn to swim, and more than half of their life is spent upon them and in the waters adjacent thereto. Here they give birth to their young, breed, nurse- their pups, and go to and come from their feeding grounds, which may be miles distant from the islands. J have traveled extensively through the Territory from Sitka to the Yukon River, and am positive that no fur-seal Jno. Duff, p. 228. rookeries exist in the region other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. Neither have I ever heard any reliable information of the existence of other fur-seal rookeries, HOME OF THE FUR-SEAL. 83 In my opinion, fur-seals born on the Copper, Bering, or Robbin islands will naturally return to the rookery at which they were born. The same thing is trueof William Brennan p. 358. those born on the St. Paul or St. George islands. The reason the seals have chosen these islands for tlieir home is be- cause the Pribilof group lies in a belt of fog, occa- sioned by the waters of the Arctic Ocean coming Saml. Falconer, p. 164. down from the north and the warmer waters of the Pacific flowing north and meeting at about this point in Bering Sea. It is necessary that the seals should have a misty or foggy atmosphere of this kind while on land, as sunshine has a very injurious effect upon them. Then, too, the islands are so isolated, that the seal, which is a very timid animal, remains here undisturbed, as every precaution is taken not to disturb theanimals while they are on the rookeries. The mean temperature of the islands is during the winter about 26° F. and in summer about 45°, I know of no other locality which possesses these peculiarities of moisture and temperature. * * While I was acting as purser on the steamer Deen I observed during the months of January, February, and March numerous seals in the inland waters or along the coast between Port Townsend and Sitka. Never a day passed but on looking over the rail seal could be seen sleeping on or disporting in the waters. One day in the bay of Sitka | saw several hundred seals asleep in the water, but at the splash of an oar they immediately disappear. These seals were in all cases much more timid than about their island home, where they evidently realize they are practically safe. I do not know of any rookery other than those of the seal islands in Bering Sea. Hy E. Feeny, p. 220. T have never heard of fur-seal pups being born anywhere except on a rookery, and I have no knowledge of any fur- seal rookeries in Alaska other than those on the Vassili Feodor, p. 231. seal islands of Bering Sea. I do not know of any rookery outside of the seal Islands of the Bering Sea, nor have I heard William Foster, p, 220. of any other. Neither have we any knowledge of the existence Nicoli Gregoroff et al., p. of any seal rookeries, except those on the seal 254. islands of Bering Sea. I have never heard of, nor have no knowledge of, fur-seal pups being born elsewhere in the northern hemisphere than on the rookeries of the seal islands of Bering Sea. 4, J. Guild, p. 232. Neither do I know of any other rookeries than the aforesaid. There ae no fur-seal rookeries in the Aleutian Islands that I know of; in fact I have never heard of any in the region besides those on the several well-known Charles J. Hague, p, 208. seal islands of Bering Sea. 84 THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. I have never heard of, nor have I any knowledge Norman Hodgson, p.367, of, any fur-seal rookeries in the North Pacitic other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. ee Neither do I know of any fur-seal rookeries : »P“°% other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. I know of no rookeries in the North Pacific other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea, and have never £. L. Lawson, p. 221. heard of any others from a reliable source. The Alaska fur-seals breed only on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, of the Pribilof group, in Bering Sea. H. H. McIntyre, p. 40. They have been unsuccessfully searched for at every other point along the coast. In 1872 Captain Archimandritoff spent the greater part of the summer in a schooner looking for a reef or island alleged to lie to the southward of Unalaska. His cruise was fruitless, not only at this point, but at several others where he was led by some legendary tale or delusive dream to expect to find seal rookeries. Since that date the coast has been explored at every point, and it may be safely stated as a fact that no other rookeries exist on the northwest coast of the North American continent or the islands adjacent thereto. The seals are migratory and return, as I believe, after migration to the vicinity and probably to the ground or rookery on H. H. McIntyre, p. 40, Which they were born. I have in several cases seen a certain seal with his harem during a number of consecutive seasons in the same spot. They are attracted to the islands in preference to other places by closely defined hereditary habits of mi- gration, which take them from and to their breeding places with constant regularity, varied only within the limit of a very few days by meteorologi- cal conditions. The isolation and climate no doubt first induced their habitat upon these islands. If there has beeu any authentic observation of the birth of seals at other points on the northwest coast of North Amer- ica, Which I very much doubt, the case was anomalous and accidental. No doubt the young are occasionally aborted, out of season and out of place, and such birth may, perhaps, have been witnessed, but should not form the basis for any valuable deduction in locating the home of the animals. The fur-seals of Alaska are bred and born on the islands of the Pribit lof group in Bering Sea, where they find com- H.W. McIntyre, p. 135. bined the conditions requisite to their existence, of isolation, climate, and proximity to food sup- ply. * * * They evidently have no fixed or definite “hauling ground” to visi- [after leaving the islands], as it would have been H. W. McIntyre, p. 136. discovered long since; but as they can sleep as well as find food at sea; they have no occasion to Jand until warned by the reproductive instinct to return to the place of their birth—their home—which they do, and are often found at precisely the place occupied during the preceding season or seasons. In evidence of this I have observed seals bearing unmistakable marks for identifica- tion return to the same spot year after year. HOME OF THE FUR-SEAL. 85 I have never seen nor heard of any fur-seal rookeries in the Northern Hemisphere other than those on the several seal islands of Bering Sea; and have never seen fur- N, B. Miller, p. 372. seals in great abundance save on and near the Pribilof Islands. We have never seen fur-seal pups about this part of the coast, and have no knowledge of any being born out- side of the rookeries on the seal islands of Bering Sea. Metry Monimetal., p.226. I believe that the cause the seals chose these islands for their home is because of the isolation of these Pribilof Islands and because the climatic condition of said Pribilof 7, F. Morgan, p. 61. Islands is particularly favorable to seal life. Dur- ing the time the seals are upon land the weather is damp and cool, the islands being continually enveloped in fogs, the average temperature being about 41° F. during the summer. It is now well established that, outside of the Pribilof group, there are no other islands or grounds in Northwest America where the seals haul up for breeding pur- Jno. 7. Morton, p. 70. poses. These islands are their natural and per- manent home, without which they could not exist. They leave it only when necessity demands and return to it as soon as the climatic con- ditions make it possible for them to do so. Here they find that protec- tion and supervision indispensable to the reproduction of their kind - and the multiplication of their numbers. The Pribilof Islands, by reason of their isolated location, cool and humid climate, rocky shores, and the fog which prevails from early spring to late autumn, are sg. RB, Nettleton, p. 75. peculiarly well fitted to be the home of the fur- seal. The Alaskan fur-seal is a native of the Pribilof Islands, and, unless prevented, will return to those islands every year with the regularity of the seasons. All the pecu- J, C, Redpath, p. 148. liarities of nature thatsurround the Pribilof group of Islands, such as low and even temperature, fog, mist, and perpetu- ally clouded sky, seem to indicate their fitness and adaptability as a home for the Alaska fur-seal; and with an instinct bordering on reason they have selected these lonely and barren islands as the choicest spots of earth upon which to assemble and dwell together during their six months’ stay on land; and annually they journey across thousands of miles of ocean, and pass hundreds of islands without pause or rest, until they come to the place of their birth. And it is a well-established fact that upon no other land in the world do the Alaskan fur-seal haul out of water. The certainty that the seals caught in the North Pacific are in fact a portion of the Pribilof herd, and that all are born and reared for the first few months upon the is- C. Mf. Scammon, p. 475. lands of that group, naturally leads the observer to regard them as quite domesticated and belonging upon their island home. The more orderly way to describe them, therefore, would be to 86 THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. commence with their birth apon the island and the beginning of their migrations rather than at the end of some one of their annual rounds away from home. Alexander Shyha,p.226. I have never seen or heard of any fur-seal rookery outside of Bering Sea. I have no kuowledge of, and have never heard of, the existence of Jno. W. Smith. p. 293, 20Y fur-seal rookeriesin the Northern Hemisphere, moe 0 BIEN Pe" other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. I have never seen and have no knowledge of any fur-seal reokeries in the region other than those on the Pribilof Is- Z. L. Tanner, p. 485. lands, and have never seen fur-seals in any great abundance save on and near said islands. In my twenty-three years’ experience as a whaler in Bering Sea and the North Pacific, during which time I visited Daniel Webster, p. 180. every part of the coast surrounding these waters, and my subsequent twenty-four years’ experience on the seal islands in Bering and Okhotsk seas, I have never known or heard of any place where the Alaskan fur-seals breed except on the Pribilof Group in Bering Sea. These islands are isolated and seem to possess the necessary climatie conditions to make them the favorite breeding grounds of the Alaskan fur-seals, and itis here they congre- gate during the summer months of each year to bring forth and rear their young. * * * Hair-seal and sea-lions haul out on the Islands and are seldom dis- turbed, yet they will plunge into the water at Danl. Webster, p. 182. once should they discover anyone upon their rook- eries, but it is not so with the fur-seal. They seem at home on the rookeries and hauling grounds, and they show a degree of domestication seldom found among similar animals, ST. PAUL AND ST. GEORGE. Page 91 of The Case. This little group of islets, consisting, in the order of their magnitude, of St. Paul, St. George, Otter, and Walrus islands, J. Stanley Brown, p. 11. were created in the shallow waters of Bering Sea by volcanic agency. Outpour upon outpour of basaltic lava gave to St. Paul, low-lying sea margins which the waves and ice ground into bowlders, pebbles, ‘and sand, “and distributed into long reaches of sandy shore at several points. The island lies to-day, except for these minor changes, just as it was created. Cliffs are infre- quent and there are from 20 to 25 miles of alternating areas of sand, rocky ledges, and bowlder-covered shores that could be made available, did an expanding herd demand it, for the uses of the seal. About 37 or 38 miles to the southeast lies the second largest of the group, St. George, which, though formed in the same manner as its neighbor, has nevertheless been So ~ modified by orographic movement as to form a Strong contrast to it topographically. Bold, towering cliffs are the rule, low lying shores are rare, and it can boast of only about 6 or 8 miles of really septs Ne rookery space along the entire sea front. AS a natural result St. Paul can and does support a far greater seal popu- lation than St. George. , ST. PAUL AND ST. GEORGE. 87 The greatest length of either of these islands would be covered by 12 miles, while 6 would easily span them at their widest part. Otter and Walrus islands, the former about 6 miles to the southward and the lat- ter about 7 miles to the eastward of St. Paul, are mere rocky remnants and now play no part as breeding grounds for the seal, and it is ques- tionable if they ever did. The islands are far removed from other land areas, the nearest point on the Aleutian Archipelago lying 20 miles to the southward. — As a result of the volcanic origin of the islands their shores are, with few exceptions, either made up of bowlder-strewn lava ledges or covered by jagged fragments of basalt of all sizes, the sharp edges of which are only slightly worn by the seals’ flippers or more completely rounded by the waves at the water’s edge. There are a few true sand beaches; occasional level areas are found at the back of the rookeries, and in some places between the rock masses comparatively smooth interspaces occur, but even the level portions referred to must be reached by cross- ing a wide belt of bowlders of all sizes that have been pushed landward by the waves and by the ice which annually surrounds the islands. It is upon such shores that the seal ‘‘rookeries” are located. Of the ruggedness of these shores or of the irregularity and confusion of the lava blocks that cover them it is difficult to form a picture, but it is in a measure indicated in the accompanying photographs. BREEDING GROUNDS. Page 91 of The Case. A rookery thus presents two distinct features structurally, while from the standpoint of the seal life thereon there are again the two well-recognized divisions of ‘‘breed- J. Stanley Brown, p. 12. ing grounds” and “ hauling grounds.” The word “rookery” is a general one and includes the specific terms “ breeding grounds” and “hauling grounds.” In general and by preference the more rocky areas are selected by the females as “breeding grounds,” and here, of course, the breeding bulls are found; while the young, immature males or bachelor seals are relegated to the adjacent sandy shores or smoother spaces at the rear of the rookeries for their “hauling grounds.” Over these masses of rock the females scramble and stumble during the entire breeding season, and in maintaining the control of his house- hold the bull dashes here and there, striking repeatedly against the sharp edges of the rocks with a force that to the onlooker would seem to threaten his life. * * * Shoreward the limit of a breeding rookery is sometimes defined by topographic conditions, as in the case of a bluff, but the seal life pres- ent in any one year upon the breeding ground is the true standard for the determination of boundaries. Upon the large scale charts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, will be seen the approximate areas occupied as “breeding grounds” in 1891, as observed by me, while the areas for certain previous years have been indicated by other observers. I made a survey of said islands and also of the seal rookeries on both of said islands. The charts signed by me and marked A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K were J. Stanley Brown, p. 20. made by me during said survey of said rookeries 88 THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. and represent the grounds covered by the same. The gray color on said charts so signed by me, and the red color on the reprints of the same, rep- resent the places occupied by breeding seals in 1891, which said spaces were covered by groups of said seals. The white spaces on said orig- inal charts, as explained by legend on reprints, represent the grounds over which seals have at various times hauled, as is plainly indicated by the condition of said areas. The grounds occupied by the seals for breeding purposes are along e 1 Fal 164. the coast, extending from high-water mark back peer eee Toren cliffs, which abound on St. Geor ge Island. It may be said in the start that the grounds held by the fur-seals are known at the islands as “rookeries” and “ haul- John M. Morton, p. 66. ing grounds.” On the former are found the breed- ine seals, viz, the full-grown males not less than six years of age, and females. of three years old and upwards. The grounds comprising the rookeries slope upward from the sea in a grad- ual and easy manner, and are characterized by hard dry surfaces of volcanic cement or basaltic rock. They are readily accessible from the se and possess other favorable conditions for occupancy by the seal ife. HAULING GROUNDS. Page 92 of The Case. An inspection of the general map of St. Paul Tsland will show that there are now existing thereon practically ten J. Stanley Brown, p.13. rookeries, some of which, however, coalesce. These rookeries are: Northeast Point, Little Polavina, Big Polavina, Lukannon, Ketavie, Reef, Garbotch, Lagoon, Tolstoi, Zapadnie, Upon the Island of St. George it will be seen that there are five rook- eries: Great East, Little any N ont ty Arteel, a The area of a «hauling snare is an ever- Prey quantity, but the locality at which bachelor seals hauled in 1891 and the approxi- mate areas hauled over is also indicated on the charts. The young males or “ bachelors,” not being allowed to land on these breeding places, lie back of and around these Samuel Falconer, p. 164. breeding grounds on areas designated hauling grounds.” CENSUS OF SEAL LIFE IMPOSSIBLE. Page 935 of The Case. In 1873 I assisted Prof. Henry W. Elliott in making his measure- ments and estimates of the number of sealson St. Samuel Falconer, p. 161. George Island. We set up stakes at some dis- tance trom the breeding rookeries while they were t 4 = 4 CENSUS OF SEAL LIFE IMPOSSIBLE. 89 occupied. Then when the seals were gone we sighted along these stakes to determine the back lines of the rookeries and measured the areas thus determined with a tape line, using our judgment by obsery- ing the nature of the ground to determine the curvature of these areas. We then calculated from our observations three seals to a square yard, and multiplying the yards in the areas measured by three made our estimate. I think the measurements were made as accurately as could be done by the means and instruments employed; however, I am con- vinced that no estimate of any kind, no matter how accurately the measurements are made, would give even approximately the number ot Seals on the island, for the animals are constantly in motion, coming and going, and there seems to be almost as many in the water as on land. It is as impossible to estimate them as it is to estimate a swarm of bees. But accurate measurements would show conclusively, if made from year to year, whether or not the seals were increasing or decreas- ing. I donot think that the number of seals on the rookeries can be even approximately estimated. No satisfactory meas- urement of the breeding grounds on which to base #, 4. Glidden, p. 110. an approximation of the number of seals has ever been or can be made. And, even if such measurement could be made, the broken nature of the ground, the inequality of distribution of the seals while on land, and the fact that the females are constantly coming and going, preclude the possibility of any sort of calculation which could be of any value at all. Even if these measurements had been correct, which was impossible, I do not believe it is possible to calculate even ap- proximately the number of seals upon the rooker- Abial P. Loud, p. 88. ies, because of the broken nature of the ground and the irreguiar outlines of the breeding grounds. The total number of seals was stated in that report to be “ not less than 4,000,000 upon the two islands.” Iam satisfied that this estimate was too high, and that the more 4. H. McIntyre, p. 48. recent estimates published in the reports of officers of the Treasury Department who have been at different times stationed upon the islands, or detailed to report upon the sealeries, have been still more erroneous than my own. My figures were made without any at- tempt at mathematical computation, and were mere guesses at the pos- sible number of seals upon the different rookeries. My successors have attempted to measure the ground occupied by the seals, and by multiplying the number upon a given area as ascer- tained by count, by the whole area of the rookeries, to arrive at an ap- proximation to the total number. They added to their computation a large percentage to cover the number supposed to be in the water at the time, but did not subtract for the inaccessible portions of the grounds, vast tracts of which are covered with bowlders and lavarocks, where no seals could lie, or skirted with acclivities they could not as- cend. Thatis,the estimates weremade from measurements necessarily taken after the seals had left the rookeries, and sometimes weeks or months afterward, with only the recollection of the ground they had formerly occupied to guide the observer. Many sections were included 90 THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. which had been but thinly populated, if at all. An attempt to secure even an approximative census of seals may well be regarded with sus- picion. I believe that it is utterly impossible to even J. H. Moulton, p. 71. approximately estimate the number of seals which resort to these islands. I do not mean that it is impossible to measure the breeding rookeries, for that can be done by the use of surveyors’ instruments with practical accuracy, but after the measurements are made, it is impossible to estimate the num- ber of seals contained in these areas, the ground being covered with broken rocks of all sizes, some weighing over a ton, between which the seals lie, so that where the large rocks are not so thick there will be a greater number of seals;: thus all over the rookeries the density of seal life varies, and besides this the seals are constantly in motion, the fe- males coming from and going to the water. I do not believe any esti- mate of the number of seals on the islands heretofore made can be relied upon at all, as there may in reality be twice as many seals as es- timated, or half as many. It is utterly useless to endeavor to estimate the number of seals on the islands. One might as well try to estimate a B. F. Scribner, p. 89. Swarm of locusts, for they are constantly in mo- tion, never for an imstant seeming to be at rest. The breeding rookeries can, of course, be measured from year to year, and these measurements would show an increase or decrease of seal life, for the harems on the rookery are in close proximity, whether there are few or a great many of them. The areas covered by these rookeries are very broken and uneven, on account of the huge masses of rock which are distributed in unequal quantities over the surface of every rookery. Therefore, to count the seals on a given area and use that to estimate the whole number on the rookery would be absurd. The estimates of the number of seals which have been made heretofore are entirely unreliable in my opinion, and no dependence or calculations should be based on such guesses. But the number of seals can not be estimated with even approximate accuracy, because of the ronghness and unevenness of the ground, and because, during the height of the season, a ma- W. B. Taylor, p.176. jority of the females (called cows) are out at sea feeding, being often obliged to go 50 or more miles from the islands for this purpose, and not returning till late at night. I think the number of seals heretofore estimated has been largely ex- aggerated, and no dependence can be placed on any estimate as to their numbers. It is impossible to estimate with any sort of accuracy the number of seals on the Pribilof Islands, because of the seals being constantly in motion, and because the breeding grounds are so Daniel Webster p. 181. covered with broken rocks of all sizes that the density varies. I think all estimates heretofore made are unreliable, and in the case of Elliot and others who have endeavored to make a census of seal life, the numbers are, in my opin- ion, exaggerated. ee ee INCREASE OR DECREASE DETERMINED. i DETERMINATION OF INCREASE OR DECREASE OF SEALS. Page 93 of The Case. The compact order in which the breeding seals arrange themselves upon the “rookeries” upon their arrival in the spring, completely filling the ground first taken 4. N. Clark, p. 159. before spreading over adjoining space, enables one to see at a glance, as the season advances, whether, if he remembers the land marks to which they filled out in former years, they have grown more or less numerous. Yet their habits are so well defined and unvarying that it is an easy matter to determine whether they increase or de- crease from year to year, because they always 4. H. McIntyre, p. 48. occupy the same portions of certain beaches, and simply expand or contract the boundaries of the rookeries as they become more or less numerous. The rookeries are covered by the breeding seals in a very compact and regular manner. There is no evidence of crowding or bunching in one place, or scattering J. M. Morton, p. 67. in another, and apparently no spaces within their limits, suitable for occupancy, which are not covered. It is evident from this systematic arrangement and distribution that any expansion or contraction which may take place of the rookery boundaries must show a corresponding increase or diminution of their population; and further, that as the rookeries enlarge or diminish, so in a like ratio will the general body of the seal life be affected. By careful and intel- ligent study, then, of the breeding grounds, any material changes which may take place from year to year in the numerical condition of the seal life on the two islands may be determined. But it is impossible to determine by close observation from year to year whether the seals are increasing or decreas- ing, because the seals crowd together inthesame J, H. Moulton, p. 71. manner, whether there are a few or a great num- ber, and as they increase the rookeries necessarily extend. I do not pretend to be able to say how many seals there are, or ever were on the rookeries; nor do I believe anyvody else can tell; for, the rookeries are so broken and J, C. Redpath, p. 151. filled with rocks it is impossible to estimate the number of seals upon them with any approach to accuracy. The lines of expansion and contraction are plain enough, and can be seen and understood by the whole community. I believe that the increase and decrease of seal life can be certainly told from accurate measurements of the breeding grounds, because the seals herd together as closely 1. B. Taylor, p. 176. oy possible, whether there are few or many of em. The density of the seal population on the rookeries is the same each Season; an increase of seal life simply extends the Space occupied by the rookeries, By observing $s. M. Waskburn, p. 155. each year the extent of ground covered with breeding seals and comparing it one year with another an obscrver can 92 THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. easily determine whether the seals are stationary, increasing, or dimin- ishing in numbers. Measurements of the breeding grounds, how- Daniel Webster, p. 181. ever, show an increase or decrease of the number of seals, because the harems are always crowded together as closely as the nature of the ground and temper of the old bulls will permit. THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. DISTINCTION BETWEEN ALASKAN HERD AND RUSSIAN HERD. Page 94 of The Case. I can tell by examining a skin whether it was caught in season or out of season, and whether it was caught on the Rus- George Bantle, p. 508. sian side or on the American side. A Russian skin is generally coarser, and the under wool is generally darker and coarser than the skins of the seals caught on the American side. A Russian skin does not make as fine a skin as the skins of the seals caught on the American side, and are not worth as much in the market. I can easily distinguish one from the other. The herd to which the 2,170 seals above referred to belong, and known as ‘* Russian seal,” and have no connection what- Charles J. Behlow, p.404. ever with the seals taken on the coast of North America or in the Bering Sea, and known as the Northwest seal, the herd that have their rookery on the Pribilof Is- lands. That the differences between the three several sorts of skins last men- tioned are so marked as to enable any person H.S. Bevington, p. 551. skilled in the business, or accustomed to handle the same, to readily distinguish the skins of one catch from those of another, especially in bulk, and it is the fact that when they reach the market the skins of each class come separately and are not found mingled with those belonging to the other classes. The skins of the Copper Island catch are distinguished from the skins of the Alaska and Northwest catch, which two last-mentioned classes of skins appear to be nearly allied to each other, and are of the same general character, by reason of the fact that in their raw state the Copper skins are lighter in color than either of the other two and in the dyed state there is a marked difference in the appearance of the fur of the Copper and the other two classes of skins. This difference is difficult to de- scribe to a person unaccustomed to handle skins, but it is nevertheless clear and distinct to an expert, and may be generally described by say- ing that the Copper skins are of a close, short, and shiny fur, particu- larly down by the flank, to a greater extent than the Alaska and North- west skins. I learned that fur-seals of the species Callorhinus ursinus do breed and haul out at the Commander Islands and Rob- J. Stanley Brown, p. 12. bin Reef, but the statements made to me were unanimous that they are a separate herd, the pelt DISTINCTION BETWEEN HERDS. 93 of which is readily distinguishable from that of the Pribilof herd, and that the two herds do not intermingle. Deponent further says that the distinction between the skins of the several catches is so marked that in his judgment he would, for instance, have had no difficulty had Alfred Fraser, p. 558. there been included among 100,000 skins in the Alaska catch 1,000 skins of the Copper catch in distinguishing the 1,000 Copper skins and separating them from the 99,000 Alaska skins, or that any other person with equal or less experience in the handling of kins would be equally able to distinguish them. In the pursuit of my business I have had an opportunity to buy and examine fur-seals taken from the Commander Is- lands, and can readily distinguish them from the George Liebes, p. 511. northwest coast catch and those taken from the Pribilof Islands. ‘They are evidently a distinct and separate herd, as the foundation of the fur is much coarser, and at the same time does not cover the belly:as thickly as on the Alaska seal and is of very much less value. The proof of this is that the Commander Island skins bring 30 per cent less in the market than the Alaska skins. From my knowledge and experience in the purchase and handling of fur-seal skins I know that the skins taken from seals along the coast and those taken from the Pribilof Islands belong to the same herd. In buying the skins taken from seals caught by hunters in the Bering Sea, the price is usually made for the lot as it runs without any limitation as to yearlings, the yearlings not averaging more than 2 per cent, whereas the coast skins are always bought with a limitation as to yearlings, one price being made for the skins and the other for the yearlings. In these lots the yearlings usually average 10 per cent. I herewith attach samples of dressed and dyed fur-seal skins of the Alaska seals, labeled as follows: Exhibit No. 1, showing the teats on the belly of a virgin female. Exhibit No. 2, showing the teats on a cow heavy with pup. Exhibit No. 3, showing teats on a cow suckling pups. Exhibit No. 4, showing teats on a batchelor seal. Exhibit No. 5, showing the teats on a wig. The seals to which [ have thus far had reference are known to myself and to the trade as the Northwest Coast Seals. sometimes also called Victorias. This herd be- fsaac Liebes, p. 455. longs solely to the Pribilof Islands, and is easily distinguishable by the fur from the fur-seals of the other northern rook- eries, and still easier from those of the south. All expert seal-skin assorters are able to tell one from the other of either of these different herds. Hach has its own characteristics and values. I have found that the Russian skins were flat and smaller, and some- what different in color in the under wool than those caught on the American side. Inmyopinion Sidney Liebes, p. 516. they are of an inferior quality. The Alaska skins are larger and the hair is much finer. The color of the under wool is also different. I have no difficulty in distinguishing one skin from the other. I am of the opinion that they belong to an entirely separate oo distinct herd. 94 THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. I ecan easily distinguish the Copper Island fur-seal skin in its un- dressed state from that of the Alaskan and north- John N. Lofstad, p.516. West coast skins. They are of an entirely dis- tinct and separate herd, while those of the north- west coast and Pribilof Islands are of the same variety. The skins belonging to these several catches are catalogued sepa- rately, sold separately, and are of different values, Walter E. Martin, p.569. and necessarily, therefore, bring different prices in the market. The differences between these several classes of skins are so marked as to enabie any person skilled in the business to readily dis- tinguish one from the other. * * * The differences between the Copper Island catch and the Alaska catch are marked and enable anyone experienced in handling skins to dis- tinguished the one from the other. The Copper Island skins show that the animal is narrower in the neck and at the tail than the Alaska seal and the fur is shorter, particularly under the flippers, and the hair has a yellower tinge than have the hairs of the Alaska seals, so that betore the skins are dressed the two may be readily distinguished from each other, and while deponent has made no such attempt he believes that it would be reasonable to say that if 1,000 Copper Island skins were mingled among 99,000 Alaska skins it would be possible for anyone skilled in the business to extract 950 of the 1,000 Copper Island skins and to separate them from the 99,050 of the Alaska catch, and vice versa. Both the Copper Island skins and the AJaska skins are the skins of male seals almost exclusively, although occasionally female skins are found among the Copper Island catch and less often among the Alaska catch. The seals of the Commander Islands appeared to me slightly differ- ent from the Pribilof fur-seals. They are grayer N. B. Miller, p.201. in color, and of a slighter build throughout the body. The bulls have not such heavy manes, or fur capes, the hair on the shoulders being much shorter and not nearly so thick. The younger seals have longer and more slender necks ap- parently. I noticed this difference between the seals at once. During the season _ J891 I was the agent of the Russian Seal-skin ompany, of St. Petersburg; that I was on Bering 4. 2. Morgan, p. 201. Tn at the time that Sir George Baden- Powell and Dr. George M. Dawson, the British representatives of the Bering Sea Joint Commission, were upon said island investigating the Russian sealeries upon the Komandorski Islands, that I was present at an exam- ination, which said Commissioners held, of Sniegeroff, the Chiefof the natives on Bering Island, who, prior to the cession of the Pribilof Islands by Russia to the United States, had resided on St. Paul, one of said Prib- ilof Islands, and that since that time had been a resident on said Bering Island, and during the latter part of said residence had occupied the position of native chief and as such superintended the taking and kill- ing of fur-seals on said Bering Island; that during said examination the Commissioners, through an interpreter, asked said Sniegeroff if there was any difference between the seals found on the Pribilof Islands and DISTINCTION BETWEEN HERDS. 95 the seals found onthe Komandorski Island; thatsaid Sniegeroff at once replied that there was difference and on further questioning stated that such difference consisted in the fact that the Komandorski Island seals were a slimmer animal in the neck and flank than the Pribilof Island seals, and further that both the hair and fur of the Komandorski Island seal were longer than the Pribilof Island seal; said Commissioners asked said Sniegeroff the further question, whether he believed that the Pribilof herd and Komandorski herd ever mingled, and he replied that he did not. I was formerly, as I have stated, interested in the Commander seal islands, as well as those of Alaska. "The two herds are separate and distinct, the fur being of differ- Gustave Niebaum, p. 78. ent quality and appearance. The two classes of skins have always been held at different values in the London market, the Alaskas bringing invariably a higher price than the Siberias of the same weight and size of skins. I think each herd keeps upon its own feeding grounds along the respective coasts they inhabit. While the Alaska and Northwest coast skins are taken from the same species or herd of seals, [ am convinced that the Copper skins are taken from seals of a differ- John J. Phelan, p. 519. ent herd. I have noticed the difference in the skins, both in their raw state and during the processes of dressing. The hair of the Copper skin is shorter, thinner, and generally of a some- what darker color than that of the Alaska or Northwest coast skins, and in most cases the difference in shape is sufficiently marked to enable me to distinguish them by that means alone. The difference between the Copper and the other skins is still more marked during the processes of dressing. It is very much more diffi- cult to unhair a Copper skin. Furthermore, the pelts of the copper skins are less porous than those of the other skins. While preparing skins for dressing it is necessary to “work” them and open the pores in order to “leather” them, and-it is during this process that I have noticed the fact that Copper skins are much less porous than the others. The pelt being harder and stiffer and the hair more brittle we can hardly ever unhair a Copper skin as satisfactorily as we can the other skins. That the three classes of skins above mentioned are easily distinguish- able from each other by any person skilled in the business or accustomed to handling skins in the Henry Poland, p. 571. raw state. That deponent has personally handled the samples of the skins dealt in by this firm, and would himself have no difficulty in distinguishing the skins of the Copper Island catch from the skins of the Alaska and Northwest catch, by reason of the fact that in the raw state the Copper Island skins have a lighter color and the fur is rather shorter in pile and of an inferior quality. The skins of each of the three classes have different values and command prices in the market. The skins of the Russian side are much coarser than those of the American side, and the fur is a little darker; more of a cherry color. The top hair is darker. Chas. W. Price, p. 521. The seals on the Russian side are a distinet and different herd from those on the American side and are not as valuable. 96 THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. The differences between the several classes of skins are very marked, and enable anybody who is skilled in the busi- Geo. Rice, p. 573. ness or accustomed to handling of fur-seal skins to distinguish the skins of one class from the skins which belong to either of the other two classes and these differ- ences are evidenced by the fact that the skins obtain different prices in the market. * * * The difference between the Copper Island catch and the Northwest and Alaska catches, which two last-mentioned classes of skins of the © fur-seal apparently belong to the same family, are such as to enable any person skilled in the business to distinguish the Coppers from the Northwest and Alaska skins, or what I may call the Bering Sea seal- skins, but the manner in which the skins are distinguished is diffieult to dese ribe to any person not accustomed to handling skins. The difference again between the Alaskas and Northwest catches, although, as deponent has said, they are of the same general family, is yet very marked by reason of the difference of the color of the hair, the length of the wool, which is, of course, perceptible mainly upon examination of the pelts and of the fact that the female skins show the marks of the breast. The differences between the three classes of skins above mentioned are so marked that the skins belonging to the three catches have always, since deponent had any knowledge of the business, com- manded, and do now command, different prices in the markets. For instance, the Alaska skins of the last year’s catch fetched about 125s. per skin; the Copper skins of the last year’s catch fetched 68s. 6d. per skin, and the Northwest skins of the last year’s catch fetched about 55s. per skin. Among the skins classed as the Northwest catch there have for the last few years been included a considerable number of skins which de- ponent says he thinks were formerly called Japanese skins, which are distinguished from the remaining Northwest and Alaska skins by rea- son of the different color of the skins in the raw state. This difference in color is so distinct as to be practically unmistakable. I have handled many sealskins coming from both north and south of this port, and can readily distinguish the differ- Leon Sloss, p. 92. ence between them. Those from the southern islands are from a different species from the Alas- kans, and both differ from the Asiatic skins. The skins from the warmer latitudes are greatly inferior. The furis short and thin and of areddish brown color. They can be detected at once. It is not as easy to distinguish the Alaska from the Asiatic skins, but experts in handling them, nevertheless, do it with unerring accuracy. The skins of these several catches are readily distinguished from each other, and the skins of the different sexes Wm.C. B. Stamp, p.575. may be as readily distinguished from each other as the skins of the different sexes of any other animal, -*, * * The differences between the Copper and Alaska skins are difficult to describe so that they can be understood by any person who has no prac- tical knowledge of furs, but to any one skilled in the business there are apparent differences in color between the Copper and Alaska skins, and a dilference in the length and qualities of the hairs which compose the DISTINCTION BETWEEN HERDS. 97 fur, and there are also apparent slight differences in the shape of the skins. The differences between the skins of the three catches are so marked that they have always been expressed in the different prices obtained for the skins. I have attended the sales for many years, and am able to make this statement from my own knowledge. The average prices obtained at the sales of the last year’s catch for instance were as fol- lows: For the Alaska skins, 125s. per skin; for the Copper skins, 68s. per skin; and for the Northwest skins, 53s. per skin. The skins of the Alaska and Copper catches are readily distinguished from each other and command different prices in market, and I should have no difficulty and would Emil Teichmann, p. 580. undertake from my knowledge of the various skins to separate Copper skins from Alaska skins should they ever be found mingled together, as, however, they arenot. The Alaskaand Copperskins are distinguishable from each other partly by means of the different color. The Copper Island skins generally have a darker top hair and are more yellow on the cheeks that the Alaska skins. Perhaps a surer means of distinguising the two is the difference in shape. The Copper Island skins are much narrower at the head than the Alaska skins, and this difference is very marked. In our warehouses we have a different set of frames for the sizing out of the Copper skins from those we use for the Alaska skins, Another difference quiteas important as the shape is that the fur upon Copper Island skins is considerably shorter on the flanks and toward the tail than is the fur of the Alaska skins. All of these differences are so marked, as I have before stated, as to enable any expert, or one familiar with the handling of skins, to readily distin- gtish Copper from Alaska skins, or vice versa, but it is true in the case of very young animals the differences are much less marked than in the case of the adult animal. Wereceive practically no skins of very young animals from Alaska, but we do receive at times a certain number of the skins of the young animals from Copper. All the skins of both the Copper and Alaska catches are the skins of the male animals. The skins of the Northwest catch are in turn readily distinguishable from the skins of the Alaska as well as the Copper catch. The dif- ferences which I have enumerated between the Copper and Alaska skins are accentuated in distinguishing the skins of the Northwest catch from the skins of the Copper catches, and we use a separate set of frames or patterns in our business for the Northwest skins from what we use for the Copper or Alaska skins. Among what are classed by us as Northwest skins are included what are sometimes called Japanese skins, which are the skins of seals killed on the northern Asiatic coasts. These skins come upon the market generally by way of Japan, but some- times by way of San Francisco or Victoria. The skins of each of the several catches are readily distinguish- able from each other by any person at all experi- enced in the handling of seal skins; and theskins Henry Treadwell, p. 525. of the Northwest, Alaska, or Copper catch are none of them found, except under those titles; that is to say, that skins of the “Copper” catch are not found among the “Alaska” seal-skins, nor those of the Northwest catch among the Alaska or Copper seal- skins. The skins of the three catches are so readily distinguishable from each other that deponent says he would be able, on the examina- tion of the skins as they are taken from the barrels in which they are TBS 98 THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. packed in salt and received by him, to detect at once in a barrel of Alaska skins the skins of either the Copper or the Northwest catch; or in a barrel of the Northwest catch the skins of either the Alaska or the Copper catch, or in a barrel of the Copper catch the skins of either the Alaska or Northwest catch. The skins of the Alaska and Copper catches are readily distinguishable from each other, although male skins; and the skins of the Northwest catch are also readily distinguishable from both the Copper and Alaska by the fact that they are almost all fe- males, and all have marks of bullets, buckshot, or spears, showing that they have been killed at sea, although the Northwest catch belong to the Pribilof Island herd. * * * it is equally true that the skins of all the other catches which we had in prior years were readily distinguishable from each other. I have not seen the seals in their native rookeries, and can not speak as to the distinguishing traits of the live animal, but in the trade and in the ex- perience of our firm we have always been able to distinguish readily the skins coming from one locality from the skins coming from another, lL remember upon one occasion my firm received a consignment of skins from London which bore no marks familiar to us and which skins had not been described to us, and that my brother, who was then at the head of the business, and who is now dead, said, after inspecting the said skins, that they reminded him very much of what were formerly called **south latitude skins,” and particularly of some skins which he had twenty odd years before from Santa Barbara, in California; and upon inquiry from the Messrs, Lampson and Company we were informed by them that the said skins were the skins of seals killed at Santa Barbara. And the skins of the two herds of the Pribilof and Commander islands may be so readily distinguished from each other C. A. Williams, p. 537. that an expert would have no difficulty in at once throwing out from the catch taken on the Com- mander Islands any skins of the Pribilof herd, and vice versa; and deponent understands from persons who have had Jong experience in the examination of the living animals that the two herds so differ as to belong to separate species of the same genus, and can readily be dis- tinguished trom each other. sg * = *- "; is And the skins of these three catches, as deponent has before stated, are readily distinguishable trom each other and are are well recognized in the trade as distinguishable from each other and the differences between are clearly evinced in the different prices which have always been obtained for the seal-skins of the three catches; for instance, the skins of the Alaska catch now command and have always com- inanded by 20 or 30 per cent a better price than skins of the same size from the Copper catch; and this difference is also recognized by the Russian Government, who lease the privilege of catching upon the Commander Islands upon terms 25 per cent less thi in the terms exacted by the United States for the lease catch upon the Pribilof Islands, . The Russian seal is a smaller seal, and the fur is net as close as the fur of the Alaska seal, nor as good quality. They - ’ : | i Maurice Windmi'ler, p. ave an entirely different herd from those on the 590. American side, and their skins have peculiar char- acteristics by which it is not diilicult to separate them, ~ = my HERDS DO NOT MINGLE. 99 DOES NOT MINGLE WITH RUSSIAN HERD. Page 96 of The Case. The Commander Islands herd is evidently distinct and separate from the Pribilof Islands herd, Its home is the Commander group of islands on the western Dr. J, J. Allen, Vol. I, side of Bering Sea, and its line of migration is p. 406. westward and southward along the Asiatic coast. To suppose that the two herds mingle and that the same animal may at one time be a member of one herd and at another time of the other, is contrary to what is known of the habits of migrating animals in general. The fur-seals of the Pribilof Islands do not mix with those of the Commander and Kurile islands at any time of the year. In summer the two herds remain entirely Report of American distinct, separated by a water interval of several Commissioners, p. 323 of hundred miles; and in their winter migrations The Case. those from the Pribilof Islands follow the Amer- ican coast in a southeasterly direction, while those from the Commander and Kurile islands follow the Siberian and Japan coasts in a south west- erly direction, the two herds being separated in winter by a water in- terval of several thousand miles. This regularity in the movements of the different herds is in obedience to the well-known law that migratory animals follow definite routes in migration and return year after year to the same places to breed. Were it not for this law there would be no such thing as stability of species, for interbreeding and existence under diverse physiographic conditions would destroy all specific characters. I think the Commander Islands seals are a different body of seals altogether from those of the Pribilofs, and that the two herds never mingle. LI think the Com- ¢, A. Anderson, p. 205. mander Islands herd goes to the southward and westward towards the Japanese coast. Iam told and believe that the Robben Island seals can be distin- guished by experts from those on the Commander — Islands, and am satisfied that they do not mingle Jno. G. Blair, p. 193. with them, and are a separate and distinct herd. They remain on and about the islands in large numbexws until late in the fall. I have been accustomed to leave in October or early in No- vember, and seals were always plentiful at that time. I am of opinion that they do not migrate to any great distance from the island during the winter. A few hundred young pups are caught every winter by the Japanese in nets off the north end of Yesso Island. I have made 32 voyages between the Aleutian Archipelago and the Commander Islands, but have never seen seals between about longi- tude 170 west and 165 east. I am satisfied the Alaska seals do not mix with those of Siberia. I have seen seals in winter and known of their being caught upon the Asiatic side as far south as 36° north latitude. No vessel, to my knowledge, has ever met a band of seals in midocean in the North Pacific. I have crossed said waters on three different occasions, and each time kept @ William Brennan, p. 358. close lookout for them. 100 THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD. The Pribilof herd does not mingle with the herd located on the Com- mander Islands. This I know from the fact that the herd goes east- vard after entering the Pacific Ocean, and from Chas. Bryant, p. 4. questioning natives and half breeds, who had re- sided in Kamehatka as employés of the Russian Fur Company, I learned that the Commander herd on leaving their islands go southwestward into the Okhotsk Sea and the waters to the southward of it aud winter there. This fact was further verified by whalers who find them there in the early spring. Deponent is further of the opinion, from his long observation and handling of the skins of the several catches, that Alfred Fraser, p. 558. the skins of the Alaska and Copper catches are readily distinguishable from each other, and that the herds from which such skins are obtained do not in fact intermingle with each other, because the skins classified under the head of Copper catch are not found among the consignments of skins received from the Alaska catch, and vice versa. In the months of October and November, after a blow from the northeast, afew scattering gray pups are occasion- Kassian Gorloi, p. 212. ally seen in groups of two and three. They pass from Bering Sea into the Pacific, and do not linger about this region. I have killed a few of these pups in the passes of Atka and Amlia islands for food, and did not find them difficult to ap- proach in bidarka. I killed ten in one season, about the year 1868, using a spear, and never lost one struck, although they do not float long after being killed, usually less than five minutes. We find but few nowadays, and I think there are less fur-seals than there were formerly. I do not know the reason for it. I have never seen an old bullor a full-grown fur-seal about these islands. I do not know through what passes the seal herds move to and from the Bering Sea, nor the time. Schooners have occasionally been seen about this region in the spring, but they never stayed long, and I do not think they got any skins. I think the fur-seal herds of the Commander and Pribilof islands are separate bodies of the fur-seal species, whose Charles.J. Hague, p. 207. numbers do not mingle with each other. In the latter part of September of 1867, in the brig Aen- tucky, making passage between Petropaulowski and Kadiak, I ob- served the Commander Islands seal herd on its way from the rookeries. They moved in a compact mass or school, after the manner of herring, and were making a westerly course towards the Kurile Islands. Q. In your opinion do the seals on the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side or are they a separate H. Harmsen, p. 443. herd?—A. No, sir; they do not come over this way. They are not a different breed, but they keep over by themselves. Atleast I dow’t think so. They follow their own stream along there. There is so much water there where there are seals, and so much where there are not. They are by themselves. Q. In your opinion, do the seals on the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side or are they a Gustave Isaacson, p. 440, Separate herd?— A. ‘They do not intermingle at all. HERDS DO NOT MINGLE. 101 Q. In your opinion, do the seals cn the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side or are they a sep- “arate herd?—A. I think they are a separate Fyank Johnson, p. 441. herd. Have seen only three fur-seals in this region in twenty years; saw them in May, 1890, traveling along the north side ot Attu Island, about 5 miles off shore, and mak- Samuel Kahoorof, p. 214. ing a northwesterly course. They were young males, I think. Fur seals do not regularly visit these islands now, but about twenty-five or thirty years ago L used to see small squads of large seals during the month of June feeding and sleeping about the kelp patches off the eastern shores of Attu and Agattu Islands. They came trom the southward and traveled in a northwesterly direction. Never saw any fur-seals east of the Semichi Islands, and do not think those of the Commander Islands herd go farther to the eastward than that. They decreased in numbers gradually, and during the last twenty years have only seen the three above mentioned. Have never seen a nursing or mother cow or a black or gray pup in this region, and do not think they ever visit it. Q. In your opinion do the seals on the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side or are they a separate herd ?—A. They are a different herd of seals alto- gether. Alex. McLean, p. 438. Q. In your opinion do the seals on the Russian side intermingle with those on the Pacific side?—A. No, sir; I do not think so. They are different seals in my opinion. Daniel McLean, p. 444. The seals of the Commander Islands are of a different variety from those of the Pribilofs. Their fur is not so thick and bright and is of a somewhat inferior quality. tno. Malowansky, p. 198. They form a distinct herd from that of St. Paul and St. George, and in my opinion the two do not intermingle. I was present as interpreter when the English commissioners were taking testimony on Bering Island. They examined, among others, when I was present, Jefim Snigeroff, chief on Bering Island, he being the person selected by them there from which to procure the testimony relating to the habits and killing of seals. This Snigeroff testified that he had lived on the Pribilof Islands for many years, and knew the dis- tinctive characteristics of both herds (Commander and Pribilof) and their habits, and that he removed trom thence to Bering Island. He pointed out that the two herds have several different characteristics, and stated that in his belief they do not intermingle. There are two great herds or armies of fur-seals that frequent the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. They are quite distinct from each other and do not inter- Morris Moss, p. 341. mingle. The one army appears off the coast of California in the latter part of December and gradually work their way northward, and are joined by others coming apparently from mid- ocean. * * * The other army proceeds along the Japanese coast, and head for the Commander and Robben islands. I believe the seals always return to the place of their birth. 102 THE ALASKAN SEAL HERD I vo not think the fur-seal herds of the Commander and Pribilof Rinnai islands ever get close enough to each other in these latitudes to mingle. I am satisfied that the seal herds respectively upon the Pribilof group, the Commander Islands, and Robben Bank Gustave Niebaum, p. 204. have each their own distinctive fee ling grounds and peculiar rounds of migration. No doubt they are of the same species, but there is a marked difference in the fur of the skins from the respective places, which can be distinguished by experts. T hunt about Attu, Agattu, and the Semichi islands. Have never hunted or killed a fur-seal. Fur-seals do not Eliah Prokopief, p. 215. regularly frequent these regions, and I have seen none but a few scattering ones in twenty years. Thirty years ago, when the Russians controlled these islands, I used to see a few medium-sized fur-seals, one or two at a time in the summer, generally in June, traveling to the northwest, and bound, I think, for the Commander Islands. The farthest east I have ever observed them was about 30 miles east of the Semichi Islands; do not think those going to the Commander Islands ever go farther east than that. Those most seen in former times were generally feeding and sleeping about the kelp patches between Attu and Agattu and the Semichi islands, where the mackerel abounds. They decreased in numbers constantly, and now are only seen on very rare occasions. Have seen but half a dozen in the last twenty years; they were large seals, bulls, I judged from their size, traveling to the northwest, about 30 miles east of the Semichi Islands. This was in May, 1888. Have never seen any pups, black or gray, or nursing female fur-seals in this region, and do not think they ever visit it. * * * Do not know where the old bull fur-seals spend the winter, nor what route the fur-seal herds take to and from the Commander and Pribilof islands, nor at what times the herds pass to and fro. Am quite sure the herds do not come near enough together to mingle in these regions. Have never known of fur-seals being seen between Amehitka and a point 30 miles east of the Semichi Islands. I never saw but one fur-seal in the water. It was a young male, which was killed in this bay in September of Filaret Prokopief, p. 216. 1394 y } C. A. Williams, p.537. There is no intermingling of the herds. The fur-seal is only rarely seen about this region, scattering ones be- ing seen occasionally during the months of Sep- Pud Zaotchnoi, p.213. tember, October, and November, traveling from the northward to the southward, through the passes between Atkaand Amliaislands. Those seen are always gray pups, and usually appear after a blow from the northeast. The most I ever Saw in any one year was about a dozen, but never more. than two or three at a time. I have met them in the passes while hunting in a bidarka. Lhave never known them to rest on the shores or on patches of floating kelp in this region. I have never seen large bulls or full- grown fur-seals in this region. CLASSIFICATION, 103 CLASSIFICATION. Page 98 of The Case. The seals which make their home upon the Pribilof Islands are readily thrown into five general groups. (1) The breed- ing males or bulls. (2) The breeding females, J. Stanley-Brown, p. 13. (3) The immature males or bachelor seals. (4) Virgin females; and (5) The pups. Each has it own time of arrival, each its separ: ate career on the islands, and each its season for tie annual expedition into the Pacific Ocean. I have dissected the brains, eyes, and hearts, and have examined the lungs, liver, and internal viscera generally of such seal as are to be found on the killing grounds. 1. 8. Hereford, p. 35. Have also examined some of the stomachs of the pups on the rookeries in the fall. The fur-seal has unusually thin bones covering the brain. The brain is well shaped, the same almost as a human brain, quite large, and if one could judge from external appearances the animal possessing such a brain should be unusually intelligent. The eye during life is large, dark, sympathetic, and intelligent: looking , but, alas for appearances! On land they may be occasionally suspicious, especially should their other senses be helped out by their olfactories, for they have the keenest scent, but in the water thev display the oreatest curiosity and conti- dence i in passing objects. They will catch up and follow a boat, and in fact I have seen them play around the “ killer-whale” totally oblivious of the fact that this “killer” is their bitterenemy. I have at the same time seen the sea-lion, which is generally considered more stupid, though braver, rush into shore and land on the rocks under similar circumstance es, ‘apparently preparing to chance death from the natives to being snapped in two and made a meal of in two mouthfuls by the “killers.” I am of the impression that the fur-seal, notwithstanding its mag- nificent-looking eye, has rather a short range of vision; it may be more powerful under water than.oun, * * * Of the lungs, liver, heart, and testicles of the male fur-seal, which I have observed, there is nothing peculiar about them. The penis is characteristic of the class to which the fur-seal belongs. The brain, heart, liver, and kidneys make very good eating, and taste about the Same as those of other animals. The meat, however, which must be en- tirely freed trom all its blubber or fat, though quite nutritious and palata- ble, is somewhat soft, of a dark color, and reminds one, according to how itis cooked, of wild duck, venison, ete., only it must never be eaten rare, but always well done. On our table it generally went by the name of St. Paul or St. George mutton, respectively, and had its regu- lar place in our bill of fare, being far more preferable to “ salt horse ” and canned stutts, 104 THE PUPS. The average weight and length of the different H, H, McIntyre, p, 58. sizes and ages may be generally stated about as follows: Length.| Weight. Inches. | Pounds. APUG OF DITO ais Sweic. dod aves ood ties cahmits Te gcecua as aes tees ene sasee ewe | 12 e BAC ISS OSIN OL Siels:ctce annie go se@ciasinse ease Me a ae eae Sea Soe ee eee ae 38 39 leer PORTS Ot coccinea cepineaeeiee & woievaieene aes ert aa nace ara Sere 6 teed ae 46 60 dno Yar: O)0 181 G) garcia s caet ac bales haa eees Been Se tee ene ee ete 54 90 Ava years old, female, nearly full Crow e.2< 22. <4 pean n coos sees se eeeeeee 54 60 At 4 years old, male .-..........-......- ee eee oy PR ene ete Si AY Mb BBR OE 3 60 150 At 4 years old, female, full grown ..........-. Jecmminhne ass he evn men teah YS em ae we 56 80 ALL VGArs O10; Male aang a ask way y picissia'an toy awe deine oc cmtemic.adad sa maneteniains sclemtecia 66 225 ATO yeirs.old, male, iearly full. srowscnc.-c $34 «gsc cscs cece someone one eneecte ee 75 350 ASG hull RUG ae, ANBIG: Ss, . 6c owen. niciccce Ss baying alee ess cia paises ale evecie ge aces aces | 78 450 The nomenclature and technical terms of seal hunters have changed somewhat [within the past eighteen years]. We C. M. Scammon, p. 474. hear of “cows” instead of “clap-matches,” bulls” instead of * wigs,” and * bachelors” or “ holuschue- kie” instead of ‘‘ yearlings.” THE PUPS, BIRTH. Page 98 of The Case, The pups are born on the rookeries, and remain with their mothers, living wholly upon their mother’s milk until they ‘an go into the sea and care tor themselves. * * * * * * * William Brennan, p. 359. They are called “black” and “ gray” pups; black before they shed their first coat and gray afterwards. 2 t § BIRTH. 105 The pup when born weighs about 4 or 5 pounds, and is covered with shiny black hair, beneath which there is no fur. When four or five months old this black hair is Geo. Comer, p. 598 (Ant shed, and new hair of a brownish-gray color comes arctic). out, and the fur appears beneath it. A young seal or “ pup” when first born weighs from 6 to 8 pounds, is almost black in color, and is covered with a short hair, which changes to silver-gray hair when the Sam. Falconer, p. 164. pup learns to swim. The place of birth is on the breeding grounds, which takes place soon after the female lands, generally within two days. The pups are born soon after the cows arrive, and remain until Octo- ber and November, and when they return, the fol- zs 7 lowing season, donotstay onland much of thetime, © % “ler, p. 29. I do not know whether the mother seal has the power of voluntarily restraining and postponing the involuntary act of labor or not, but it would almost seem as if she J. 8. Hereford, p. 35. had, as on many occasions she will have but just dragged herself ashore when she will give birth to her young. This may be a coincidence only, but when not disturbed they usually come ashore with plenty of time to make themselves comfortable. The pups are born soon after the cows reach the Nicoli Krukoff, p. 133. rookeries, The young seals, called “ pups,” are born in June and July upon the grounds on these islands known as “ breeding rookeries.” They are at birth very clumsy and #7. H. McIntyre, p. 41. helpless, possessing little ability to move about on land. Within a few days after landing (it may be but a few hours or even minutes, as I have seen) the female gives birth to her young, but one being brought forth cach year. A.W. Me Intyre, p. 136. The reported occasional birth of twins is not veri- fied. ‘These little ones, ‘ pups,” as they are called, are comparatively helpless, particularly awkward in movement, and, unlike the hair seal, are unable to swim. And the pups are born soon after the cows land on the rookeries. When the pup is born it is utterly helpless and would drown if put into water. Those born nearest Anton Melovedoff, p. 144. the water are often drowned in the surf when the the sea is rough in stormy weather. The pup seals are born on the breeding rookeries on St. Paul and St. George islands during the months of June and July. T. F. Morgan, p. 61. For the first six or eight weeks of its life a pup is a land animal, having a coarse hair, but no fur. This coarse hair is shed before the fur appears. J. H. Moulton, p. 7? 106 THE PUPS. As a rule the pups are born soon after the cows reach the shore, though it occasionally happens that a cow will L. A. Noyes, p. 81. be two or three days on the rookery before bring- ing forth her young, I think the pups are all born by July 22. And I believe they bring forth their young al- J.C. Redpath, p. 148. most immediately after reaching their places on the rookeries. Thomas I’. Ryan, p.174. The cow gives birth to her pup soon after ar- riving on the breeding rookeries. Daniel Webster, p. 180. The young seals are born on the breeding rook- eries in June and July. INABILITY TO SWIM. Page 99 of The Case. The pups are born between the middle of June and the middle of July, and can not swim until they are 6 or 7 weeks K, Artomanoff, p. 100. old; and if born in the water they would die. I have seen the surf wash soine of the young pups, into the sea, aud they drowned in a very short time. When the pups are born they can not swim and the mothers take them to the water’s edge, where one can see thou- William Brennan, p.359. Sands paddling and struggling in the surf. The noise made by the mothers crying for their pups, and the bleating of the pups in answer, make a constant roar. The pup during the first months of its life is not amphibious. It , does not even use its flippers as the maturer J. Stanley Brown, p. 16. seals, * * * The pups are afraid of the water; they have to learn to swim by re- peated effort, and even when able to mi untain themselves in the quiet waters will rush in frantie and ludicrous haste away from an approach- ing wave. I have taken pups two or three weeks old and carried them out into still water, and they awkwardly but in terror rapidly floun- dered toward the shore, although they could have escaped me by going in the other direction. In three trials, paddling in all about 60 feet, the pups became so exhausted that they would have been drowned had I not rescued them. If the pups when collected in groups or pods near the shore were to be overtaken by even amoderate surf they would be drowned, and such accidents to them do occur on the island betore they have entirely mastered the art of swimining. The pups are born on the rookeries and are unable to swim till six or eight weeks of age. If one gets washed off the rocks before that time it is drowned. A pup born in the water or on the kelp would certainly Jas. W. Budinglon, p. 595. (Antaretic.) perish. A pup is at least a month old before it learns S.N. Buynitsky,p.21. to swim. Betore that it not only can not swin, but is afraid of the water. — free INABILITY TO SWIM. 107 The young seals at birth are very helpless. They can not swim and seem to have no desire to learn. When they are six or seven weeks old, if the beach on which they Harry N. Clark, p. 160. lie slopes down very gradually to the water and the waves roll in on it, they will voluntarily commence to paddle about: and finally get afloat without particular urging from the older seals, but if the rocks are abrupt at the water’s edge the old ones mush push them over into the sea or seize them by the neck, as a mother cat handles her kitten, and drop them into the water before they will learn to swim. In such cases the “pups” often struggle to get back upon land. A pup does not go into the water until he is three or four months old, and then he works in gradually from the puddles into the surf, and I have seen “clap Geo. Comer, p. 598 (Ant- matches” in stormy weather pick up their pups arctic.) in their mouths and carry them out of reach of the waves. A pup when first born can not sustain itself in ae eT ee the water and would unquestionably perish. ae Once. in the month of June, I caught a seal that had a pup init. I carefully cut the pup out of its mother and placed it in the water and it drowned. Ihave often cut pups out of the mother seal and tried to rear them, but in two or three £ilabush, p. 385. days it would sicken and die. When first born a pup can not swim, and does not learn so to do until it is six or eight weeks of age. It is there- . fore utterly impossible for a pup to be born in the samt. Falconer, p. 164. water and live. I have noticed that when a pup of this age is put in the water it seemed to have no idea of the use of its flippers, and was very inuch terrified. A pup is certainly for the first six or eight weeks of its life a land animal, and is in no sense amphibious, The pups are born soon after the arrival of the cows, and they are helpless and can not swim, and they would drown if put into water. The pups do not learn to swim until they are six or eight weeks old, and after learning they seem Jno. Fratis, p. 108. to prefer to be on the land. A pup seal until it is six weeks or two months old never goes into the water, being evidently afraid to do so, and it is only after this age that it begins by degrees to #. 4. Glidden, p. 110. become acquainted with the sea. I am of the opinion if a pup got into the water that it would be drowned and there- fore would perish if born in the water. For the first six or eight weeks of its life a pup is a land animal and in no way amphibious. A new-born pup seal is unable to swim, and is afraid of the water. I have seen a cow seal push her pup from a rock into the water, where it floundered about in a Louis Kimmel, p. 174, helpless manner until the mother would go in, 108 THE PUPS. take it in her mouth as a cat carries kittens, and bring it again ashore, only to again push it off the rock into the water. My observation has been that a pup is generally about two months old before it can swim. The pups are helpless when born, and they can not swim; and they would drown if put into water, and I have seen Nicoli Krukoff, p. 133. them drown when swept off by the surf in bad weather. The pups when first born can not swim, and will drown if they are put into water. Aggei Kushen, p. 129. I have seen many pups drowned when washed off the edge of the rookery by the surf. They do not go into the water until they are six or eight weeks old, and then they will keep in shallow water and close to the shore for several days more. They seem to like to stay on land until late in the season. And if born in the water, or swept from the shore soon after the birth, as I have several times witnessed, by the H. H. McIntyre, p.41. outgoing surf of heavy seas, perish from inability to swim. At this time they are simply land ani- mals, with less aquatic instinct and less ability to sustain themselves in water than newly-hatched ducklings. The pups, when born, can not swim or help themselves in an; way, and they are entirely dependent on the cows for Simeon Melovidov, p.146. Sustenance. They are 6 or 8 weeks old before they can swim, and were they put into the water when born they would perish, for they are not then amphibious. When first born a pup can only live upon land, is not amphibious, and is unable to swim. If it is washed off into T. F. Morgan, p.61. the sea by the surf it is drowned, as I have often seen. A pup is also unable to swim, and I have seen pups thrown in the water when their heads would immediately go J. H. Moulton, p.72. wnder and they would inevitably drown if not rescued. The pup when born is as helpless as a newborn lamb, and as incapa- ble of living upon the water. It is not until six S. R. Nettleton, p.75. or eight weeks old that the pup of the fur-seal can swim. If, as is often the case, a pup should be swept from the rookery into the surf before it had learned to swim, it would be drowned. Every season young pups in more or less numbers are thus drowned. When the pup is born it is utterly helpless and dependent; it is not amphibious, and would drown if put into water. L. A. Noyes, p.82. I have often watched the pups near the water’s edge when in stormy weather the surf carried them off, and in every instance they drowned as soon as they went into deep water, INABILITY TO SWIM. 109 They are not amphibious when born, nor can they swim for several weeks thereafter, and were they put into the water would perish beyond a doubt, as has been welles- J. C. Redpath, p. 148. tablished by the drowning of pups caught by the surf in stormy weather. A pup does not swim when first born, and is generally two months old before it goes into the T. FP. Ryan, p. 175. water. The pups are not able to go with their mothers and drown, if by mischance, they are thrown into the sea be- fore they are three or four weeks old. They stay ©. M. Scammon, p.475. with the bulis on the breeding grounds until about six or seven week old before learning to swim, From my observations I am convinced a pup must be six or eight weeks old before it can swim, and that a female generally teaches her own pup theuseofhis flippers. 17. B. Taylor, p. 176. Birth in the water would mean immediate death to the pup, both because of the fact last stated and from the further fact that for a day or two after birth a pup is entirely helpless. In my judgment, then, a seal pup for the first few weeks of its life is a land quadruped and in no sense an amphibian. I believe that a seal is naturally a land animal, as all copulation, birth, and nursing takes place on shore, and the only reason I think the seals seek the water is because they are compelled so to do in order to obtain food. This is verified from the fact that the seals remain on land as long as possible until the need of food and severity of the weather compel them to take to the sea. The head constitutes ihe greater part of this animal at this time [birth], and they are clumsy and awkward in all their movements, and if swept inte the water by Dan’l. Webster, p. 180. accident or otherwise would perish from inability to swiun—a fact that I have often observed, and one which is well known to all who have paid any attention to the subject. Practically they remain in this helpless condition, though taking on fat rapidly, until they are from 6 to 7 weeks old, when they commence to go into the shallow water, and, after repeated trials, learn to swim; but even then they spend most of their time on land until they leave the islands late in November. During the first few weeks after their birth they are not amphibious, and land is a necessity to their existence. A young seal does not take to the water naturally. He has to be taught to swim. The hair-seal will pup anywhere and the pups will go right into the water, but the 7. 7. Williams, quoting fur-seals are forced to go ashore to bring forth Capt. Olsen, p. 505. their young and forced to leave their young on land, while they go into the water to feed and bathe. 110 THE PUPS. AQUATIC BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. [See also ‘‘ Birth on Kelp Beds Impossible.’’} Page 102 of The Case. Never heart! cf a seal pup being born in the water nor on the land, but have heard they are born on some Akatos, p. 237. istands in Bering Sea. In the winter a few pups are driven into the bay by the storms. I have never seen a fur-seal pup of the same season’s birth in the water at sea; neither have I any knowledge of any AndrewAnderson, p.217. being born elsewhere than on a regular rookery. Have never known any seal pups to be born in the water nor any- where else in Alaska outside of the Pribilof Peter Anderson, p. 313. Islands. We have never seen fur-seal pups about this part of the coast, and have no knowledge of any being born elsewhere Cal al etal, p. than on the rookeries of the seal islands in Bering %). iat Sea. Never have known fur-seal pups to be born in the water, nor have I ever heard of pups being born in the water or Atenas-Kos, p. 237. anywhere else on Alaska. Chas. Avery, p. 218. I do not think that seals can be born in the water and live. Have never known of pups being born in the Adam Ayonkee. p. 255. water or anywhere else on the coast outside of the Pribilof Islands. (. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water, and is it your opinion that it is possible for them to be born in the water?—A. No, sir; they are not like sea- otter, they being born in the water. A seal is just as helpless in the water, until they are about six weeks or two months old, as a child. Geo. Ball, p. 482. Wm. Bendt, p. 405. And, further, I do not believe it possible for the female to give birth to its young in the water and have it live. Wilton C. Bennett, p.356. I have never known any seal pups to be born in the water or on the coast anywhere, except on the Pribilof Islands. Edward Benson, p. 277. J have never known any pups to born in the water or on the land. Never have heard of or seen any pups being born in the water or any- where else on the coast outside of the Pribilof Martin Benson, p.405. Islands. Henry Brown, p. 318. ] have never known a black pup to be captured on the coast. AQUATIC BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. if Were not the seals in their organs of reproduction, as well as in all the incidents of procreation, essentially land ani- mals, the fact that the placenta remains attached 7% Sy Brown, p. 15. to the pup by the umbilical cord for twenty-four hours or even more after birth, would show the impossibility of aquatic birth. I have seen pups dragging the caui over the ground on the third day after birth. Even could the pup stand the buffeting of the waves it would not sur- vive such an anchor. No pup could be born in the water and live. Doubtless the habits of the sea-otter have become confused with those of the fur-seal. Cow seals can not give birth to their young in the water or on the kelp and have them live. Ihave never seen nor known of any pups along the coast that were Dorn in the same year, and I have never known any cow seals to be caught along the coast that had given birth to their young, and in whose breast there was milk, and it is very seldom that we catch a full-grown cow that does not have a pup in her. Peter Brown, p. 378. During this period the pup isin no sense an amphibian, being as helpless in the water as a young chicken; it can not swim, and when thrown in the water would Chas. Bryant, p. 5. inevitably drown if not rescued by its mother or by man. Therefore, f a pup was born in the water it would certainly perish. I have seen cases where a mother, being taken by the pains of parturition, sought the nearest beach rather than a rookery, not having time to reach the latter before the birth of her pup. If pups could be born in the water such cases as the last stated would not occur. If a pup should be born in the water it would unquestionably be ~ drowned; but I believe that it is an absolute im- possibility for successful birth to take plagein the §,.N. Buynitsky, p. 21. water, for the reason that the mother would die of exhaustion before ov while bringing forth her young. Once I killed a cow in milk, the only one of the Landis Callapa, p. 379. kind I have ever known being caught on the cvast. Have never known any seal pup born in the Chas. Campbell, p. 256. water, nor on the coast anywhere outside of the Pribilof Islands. We have never seen ftr-seal pups of the same season’s birth in the water at sea, and do not believe it possible for ~— |. for them to be successfully reared except on a ae CUETO ae als, rookery. ne Have never known or heard of pup seals being 8S. Chinkoo-tin, p. 257. born in the water, nor on the land anywhere in Alaska. I never knew of fur-seal pups being born anywhere except on a rook- ery, and do not believe they can be successfully Julius Christiansen, p.219 raised under other conditions. Lay. THE PUPS. Poier'Ohurthe 0) Dat. Never have known any pups to be born in . the water. Have never known or heard of any fur-seal pups being born in the 7 ° water or on the land in any part of Alaska or Wm. Clark, p. 293. oe: : i A ala a 7 British Columbia. Q. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water, and is it your opin- ion that it ispossible for them to be born in the Dani. Claussen, p. 412. water?—A. No, sir; they would drown if born in the water. Never have known or heard of pups being born Jno. C. Clement, p. 258. in the water or elsewhere outside the Pribilof Is- lands. A pup born in the water or on a bed of kelp would certainly be drowned, and during all my experience I never Geo. Comer, p.590 (Ant- 2 co ; saw a black pup seal on kelp or in the water. arctic). From my knowledge of natural history and from my observations of seal lite | am of the opinion that it would be im- W. H. Dall, p. 28. possible for the young seals to be brought forth and kept alive in the water. Whenitis the habit of an animal to give birth to its young upon the land it is contrary to biologic teaching and common sense to suppose they could successfully bring them forth in the water. Jeff. Davis, p. 384. I never saw a black pup on the coast, and this year I have seen but very few yearlings. IT havé never known of a pup seal being born in Hooniah Dick, p. 258. the water or on the land anywhere in Alaska out- side of the Pribilof Islands. Have never known any pups to be born in the water, nor on the land Geo. Dishow, p. 323 on the coast of Alaska anywhere outside of the 7e0. Dishow, p. 323. apa Fe Pribilof Islands. T have never known of any fur-seal pups being born in the water or on the land in British Columbia or Alaska, but Wm. Duncan, p.279. ave heard they are born on the Pribilof Islands. The Indians have always reported to me when they returned from hunting that the seal had all gone north to have their young. Echon, p. 280. Have never known any pup seal to be born in the water or anywhere else in this part of Alaska. Chief Frank, p. 280. T have never heard of seal pups being born in the water. Q. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water?—A. No, sir. Luther T. Franklin, p. Q. In your opinion, is it possible for them to be 425. born in the water?—A. No, sir; it is not possible, AQUATIC BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. 113 Q. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water, and is it your opinion that it is possible for them to be born in ae ey the water?—A. I do not think it is possible for 4°" Ce BUR CeeDs them to be born in water; no, sir. ; Nor have [I ever heard of any pup seal being born in the water or anywhere else in Alaska, and had they ever been born in the water or on the islands or rocks of Nicoli Gadowen, p. 250. Alaska some of my tribe would have known it and it would have been reported to me. Have never known or heard of pups being born in the water or any- where else on the coast outside of the Pribilof Is- ae Ohad. George, p. 366. lands. I have never known of pups being born in the Chas. Gibson, p. 281, water or on the land anywhere around Alaska. I have never heard of nor known of seals being — Thos. Gibson, p. 432. born in the water. Never have heard of any pup seals being born Gonastut, p. 238. in the water. Have never known any pups to be born in the Jas. Gondowen, p. 259. water or on the land around the coast of Alaska. I have never seen a mother seal or a black pup -Aassian Gorloi, p. 213. in this region. lave never heard of pups being born inthe Jas. Griffin, p. 433. water or anywhere else on the coast outside of the Pribilof Islands. Q. In your opinion, are any of the pups born in the water, or any- where outside of the seal islands?—A. It has ° never come under my observation. I have never Chas.G.Hagman, p. 435. seen a seal on shore. I have never seen the seal islands yet; that is, St. George and St. Paul, I have never seen. I have seen the Copper Islands, on the hussian side. Have never known any pups to be born in the Henry Haldane, p. 281. water or on the land anywhere in Alaska. Have never known of any pups to be born in Martin Hannon, p. 445. the water or on the land outside of the Pribilof Tslands. Q. In your opinion, are any of the pups born in the water or any- ' where else outside of the sea islands?—A. No, FT Rarmeon.p. 442 sir; I don’t think it. ; Eas Nor have I ever heard of pups being born in the water, or on the land in any part of Alaska, except on the Pribilof Islands im Bering Sea. » 8BS Sam Hayikahila, p. 239, 114 THE PUPS. And I have no reason to believe that the pups are born in the water r that they can be saved in the water if acci- M.A. Healey, p.29. or t y be say ed the water if ace dentally born there. Q. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water, and is it your opinion that it is possible for them to be born in Wm. Henson, p. 484. the water?—A. I think it impossible for seals to be born in the water. Q. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water, and is it your ; opinion that it is possible for them to be born in ie J. Hofman, P-the water?—A. No, sir; I have never seen any born in the water, and I think it is impossible for them to be born in the water. Have never known a pup to be born in the water E. Hofstad, p. 260, or anywhere else on the coast of Alaska. O. Holm, p. 368. I have never known any seal pups to be born on the water, oron the land anywhere, except on the Pribilof Islands. Gustave Isaacson, p. 440. Q. In your opinion, are any of the pups born in the water?—A. I don’t think so. Q. Or anywhere else except on the seal islands?—A. I dowt think So. Q. Have you ever seen any seal pupsin the Pacific that were younger than those born the year previous?—A. Down at Guadaloup Island about three months ago, L killed a cow there that had a pup that was too young to come from the Bering Sea and evidently had been born around there. That is about the only case I have seen. Q. The pups that you see in the Pacific this year are those born last year. You dow’t see those born this year?—A,. No, sir; L do not. T have never killed a cow on the coast that had given birth to her pup Tn eee and was giving milk, nor have L ever seen a pup PRS born the same year, Victor Jackobson, p.329. Ihave never known the fur-seal to give birth to their young in the water. And I have never known of anyone taking a young seal on the coast that was born that year, nor do we catch any cow Jas, Jamieson, p. 331, Seals on the coast that have given birth to their young that year. Q. In your opinion, are any of the pups born in the water, or any- where outside of the seal islands?—A, I think Frank Johnson, p. 441. they are born on land. J. Johnson, p. 331. I never have seen a pup born in the water, nor have I ever seen one born on shore outside of the Pribilof Islands. Selwish Johnson, p. 388. Ihave never caught a cow in milk along the coast, nora small pup that had been born that year. AQUATIC BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. 115 Have never known of a fur-seal pup being born _ P, Kahiktday, p. 261. in the water, or along this coast. Never have seen or heard of pups being born philip Kashevaroff, p. in the water or on the coast outside of the Pribi- 262. lof Islands. Have never seen fur-seal pups born in the — King Kaskwa, p. 295. water or on the land in British Columbia or Alaska. Ihave never known seal pups to be born on the Jim Kasooh, p. 296. land anywhere in the water in this part of Alaska. Have never known any pups to be bornin the Mike Kethusduck, p. water or on the coast of Alaska. 262, Have never heard of pups being born in the Geo. Ketwooschish, p. water anywhere along the coast of Alaska in my 251. life. He has never seen baby seals in the vicinity of Kickiana, p. 306. Barclay Sound. He never knew of one to be born in the water, and never heard of it. I never have known of seals being born in the water. In fact I do not believe they are, except by accident, in which cases they would certainly die, as young seals Jas. Kiernan, p. 450. have to be taught to swim by their mother, just as children have to be taught to walk. It is my opinion that a pup born in the water Louis Kimmel, p. 174. would drown in a very few minutes. Have never seen or heard of a fur-seal pup be- — Kinkooga, p. 240. ing born in the water. Have never known of fur-seal pups being born in the water or on the coast of Alaska around here. C. Klananeck, p. 263. Have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land anywhere in Alaska or British Columbia, and I don’t know where they are born. Jas. Klonacket, p. 283. I have never known any pups to be born in the — Robert Kooko, p. 296. water. Have never known any pups to be born in the water, or anywhere else on the coast, but have heard that they are cae re born on the Pribilof Islands and nowhere else. alt ala I have never seen a live pup of the same sea- Olaf Kvam, p. 236. son’s birth in the water. Have never heard of pups being born in the Geo. Lacheek, p. 265. water or on the land along the coast of Alaska, 116 THE PUPS. Fur-seals do not give birth to their young in the water, neither will the pup seal live if born in the water. Andrew Laing, p. 335. I have never known of any pup seals being caught in the water (ex- cept those in embryo) that were less than several months old, nor are any such ever offered to the trade, showing con- Isaac Liebes, p. 454. elusively tomy mind that they are not born at sea. The Indians frequently offer‘ black pups” for sale, but only such as they have removed trom the womb of the mother seal. I have never killed nor saw a cow in milk, along Thos. Lowe, p. 371. the coast, nor one that had recently given birth to her young. Q. Have you ever seen any seals born in the water, and is it your opinion that it is impossible for them to be born Chas. Lutjens, p.459. in the water?—A. Seals can not be born in the water. Have never known pups to be born in the water or on the coast of Vulre ~ » Tale s acince Aye © J.D. McDonald, p. 267. Alaska o1 on the islands adjac ent thereto, and I have spent 5 years on the coast of Alaska. Jas. McKeen, p. 267. Have never known any pups to be born in the water or elsewhere outside of the Pribilofft Is- lands. Q. In your opinion, is it feasible that pups can be born in the water and live?—A. | don’t believe they can be born in rr paiaaiaal McLean, P- the water at all and live. I have heard several people express themselves differently. L think myself it is impossible. Seals have got to haul up on land to breed, and leave their pups on shore. Daw McLean, p. 444. (). In your opinion, are any of the pups born in the water or anywhere else out of the seal is- lands?—A. I have never seen any. (). Have you ever found any seal pups in the Pacifie that were younger than those born the year previous?—A. No, sir; [ have never seen any. Pups, if born in the water, are sure to drown. It is a matter of ac- tual observation that they must first learn to swim, aoe Malowansky, P- and do not leave the shore until they are 4 or 5 ones months old. I have often seen the mother seals push their pups, when several weeks old, into the water and watched them flounder about awkwardly and scramble ashore, seeming delighted to get back. I have never known any fur-seal pups to be born in the water or on the land around this part of Alaska or British Chas. Martin, p. 297. Columbia I have never seen « pup born in the water, nor have I ever heard of Fred. Mason, p. 284 a pup being born on the land around this part of ; , Alaska. AQUATIC BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. aly 6 I have never known any pups to be born inthe Amos Mill, p. 285. water or any on the land in this part of Alaska. Have never known of pups being born in the water or anywhere ey ~M\AS mar: yQlee “Oy as »Pribi . else on the coast of Alaska outside of the Pribiloft G. E. Miner, p. 466. [slands. (). Have you ever seen any seals born in the water and is it your opinion that it is possible for them to be born in the water?—A. They are not born in the water, Frank Moreau, p. 468. A seal can not swim when if is first born. I never saw nor heard of any young pups being — Eddie Morehead. p. 467. born in the water. If a pup was born in the water it could not possibly live and T have never heard of such a ease. A further fact in this connection is that the females never come to the 7, F, Morgan, p. 62. islands accompanied by a pup. The statement that the fur-seal may bear and rear its young at sea as well as on land is, in my opinion, wholly gra- tuitous. I am unable to conceive of any ground — J, M. Morton, p. 67. whatever upon which to base such an assertion. When born the “pup” is an exceedingly stupid animal, with an abnor- mal development of head, and is apparently incapable of any exertion, except in the way of exercising its lungs. At this time it is certainly not an amphibious animal, for it does not attempt to approach the water for a month or two after its birth, and in its first natatorial efforts not only does it seem to require instruction from the older seals, but considerable practice is also necessary in the shallow waters along the beaches before it dares to venture away from the shore and among the turbulent waves of Bering Sea. In my opinion, the seal “pup” when its first introduction to the world takes place at sea must inevit- ably perish. Assuming that it might float on the surface of the water for a while, what is to become of it during the long voyages the mother must now make in search of nourishment for it and herself? The sup- position that it would be able to acccompany her on such journeys is equally as absurd as the idea of its being left unprotected on the sur- face of a stormy sea while awaiting her return. There is no doubt that a seal born in the water J, H. Moulton, p. 72. would at once perish. Have never known any pups to be born in the — smith Natch, p. 299. water or on the land in British Columbia or Alaska. I have never seen any pup seal born in the Dan Nathlan, p. 287. water or on the land anywhere around British Columbia or Alaska. I have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land around this partof Alaska. Lam a very old man, and I have never even heard ot it. Jos. Neishkaitk, p. 287. 118 THE PUPS. I have never seen a pup in the water, and do not believe they can be born in the water. If they are born in the— Niles Nelson, p.470. water they would drown. If for any reason the cow should not be able to reach the rookery in time to give birth to her pup and it should be S. R. Nettleton, p.75. born in the water, the pup would of necessity be drowned. I have never known or heard of pups being born in the water or on the land anywhere in British Columbia, Queen Nitkla-ah, p. 288. Charlotte Islands, or Alaska. John Olsen, p. 471. I do not believe mothers give birth to their young in the water. Peier Olson, p. 288. I have never known of any fur-seal pup to be born in the water or haul up on the land anywhere in Alaska. T have never killed an old bull or barren cow along the coast, neither have I killed a cow in milk along the coast, or any- Osly, p. 391. where else than in the Bering Sea. Small black pups are not seen in the water along the coast. I have visited the different islands in the sound, and never knew any fur-seal to be born in the water or on any of the Kesth Riley, p. 252. islands in southeastern Alaska. Pups are not born in water. In some cases females far advanced in pregnancy haul up on coast to give birth; W. Roberts, p. 242. but otherwise seals do not stop, except at Pribilof Islands. I have never seen nor heard of a fur-seal pup being born in the water, or on the rocks, on any part of the coast Rondtus, p. 242. of Alaska, but have heard that seal are born on the Pribilof Islands. Never knew any fur-seal pups to be born in the water or anywhere else in Alaska. Have heard that they are born Schkatatin, p. 243. on the Pribilof Islands. In my judgment, and from my knowledge of the habits and conditions of seal life, I would state that a pup born in the B. F. Scribner, p. 89. Water would certainly perish, and { never saw during my experience a pup land on the island with the females when they arrived in the early summer, and I never heard of such a case. It is my belief that a pup born in the water would drown, for I am convinced from statements made me by the L. G. Shepard, p. 189, natives and those thoroughly familiar with seal habits that a pup for the first weeks of its life is unable to swim. AQUATIC BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. Never known of pups being born in the water or anywhere in this part of Alaska. I have never seen a fur-seal pup in this region, are not born outside the rookeries on the seal islauds in the Bering Sea. Never known or heard of pups being born in the water, but have heard of them being born on the Pribilof Islands. Have never known pups to be born in the water or anywhere else on the coast. Have never known or heard of a fur-seal pup being born in the water. Have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land in British Columbia or Alaska. Nor have I heard of any fur-seal pup being born in the water nor on the land in or around Chatham Sound. I do not believe a seal can be born in the water and live. Have never known any pups to be born in the water nor on the coast elsewhere than on the Pribi- lof Islands. IT have never known of fur-seal pups being born elsewhere than on the aforesaid rookeries. Have never known of pup seals being born in the water, nor anywhere else on the coast outside of the Pribilof Islands. I have never seen any young pups in the water. 1 do not think they breed in the water. Have never known or heard of pups being born in the water or on the land anywhere outside of the Pribilof Islands. 119 Jack Shucky, p. 289. and know that they Alexander Shyha, p. 226. Martin Singay, p. 268. Jack Sitka, p. 269. Skeenong, p. 244. Thomas Skowl, p. 300. Yuan Slanoch, p. 253. James Sloan, p. 478. Pred. Smith, p. 249. Jno. W. Smith, p. 233. Wm. H. Smith, p. 478. Cyrus Stephens, p.479. Joshua Stickland, p. 350. Q. Have you ever seen seals born in the water, and is it your opinion that it is possible for them to be born in the water ?—A. It is impossible for seals to be born Pa in the water. Pups can not swim at birth, hence the female can not give birth to her young in the water with- out sacrificing its life. Have never known pups to be born in the water, or on the land elsewhere than the Pribilof Island. Gustave Sundvall, p. Z. L. Tanner, p. 375. M. Thikahdaynahkee, p. 269. 120 THE PUPS. Have never known any pups being born in the water or on the land on the coast of Alaska outside of the Pribilof W. Thomas, p. 485. Islands Thunk, p. 245, Have never known or heard of any fur-seal pups being born in the water. Charlie Tlaksatan, p.270. Never knew of pups being born in the water. Toodays Charlie, p.249. Have never heard, nor do I believe there ever was, any pups born in the water. Peter Trearsheit,p.271. | Never heard of nor seen pups born in the water or on the coast of Alaska, outside of Pribilof tslands. Twongkwak, p. 246. Have never heard of seal pups being born in the water nor anywhere else in Alaska. Have never seen or heard of pups being born in the water or on the . faa land on the coast of Alaska, Have heard that Jas. Unatajim, p. 272. yuys are all born on the Pribilof Islands. George Usher, p. 291. Have never seen any pups born in the water. Have never known a pup to be born in the water. I have never known of a pup seal being born on the rocks of the coast anywhere. Have heard they are born on the Pribilof Islands. Rudolph Walton, p. 272. Charlie Wank,p.273. Never have known of pups being born in the water, nor elsewhere on the coast of Alaska. Watkins, p. 395. Nor can they give birth to their young in the water o: the kelp and have them live. P, S. Weittenhiller, p. I have never known any pups to be born in the 274. water or anywhere else except on the Pribilof Islands. From my experience and observation relative to the fur-seal I am : firmly of the opinion that it is a physical impos- Michael White, p. 301. Sibility for the mother seal to give birth to her young in the water and preserve it; but that itis necessary for her to haul up on the land to give birth and rear her young. I have never known or heard of their giving birth to their young other than on their regular hauling grounds. Billy Williams, p 301. Have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land in any part of British Colum- bia or Alaska. Fred Wilson, p, 301. T have never heard of pups being born in the water or on the land anywhere on the coast of British Columbia or Alaska, BIRTH ON KELP BEDS IMPOSSIBLE. 12% They do not give birth to their pups in the water nor on the kelp. Have never seen a black pup in the water along the coast, but used to capture a great many gray Wispoo, p. 396. pups, but this year I have not seen one. Have never knownor heard of pupsbeingbornin Michael MWooskoot, p. the water nor on the coast of Alaska outside of 275. the Pribilof Islands. I go from Icey Bay to Sitka Sound and come in contact with the peo- ple of different tribes of Indians, and have never seen myself nor heard other Indians say that Yahkah, p. 246. they had seen fur-seal pups born in the water. * * * * * * * When I was a small boy, a few pup seals used to be driven into the bays by hard storms on the coast. Have never seen or heard of any pups being Billy Yeltachy, p. 302. born in the water or on the land around this part of Alaska. Have never known any pups to be born in the Hastings Yethnow, p. 303. water or on the land anywhere in British Columbia or Alaska. I have never seen any pups born in the water. Alf Yohansen, p. 369. Nor have I ever seen or heard of pups being Paul Young, p. 292. born in the water. Have never seen any pups born in the water MWalter Young, p. 303. or on the land anywhere on the coast of Alaska or British Columbia. I have never seen a young black pup along the Aish Yulla, p. 398. coast. * > K * * I never killed a cow in milk along the coast. I never have seen any pups born the same year, Thomas Zolnoks, p.398. nor have I ever caught any cow seals on the coast that were in milk. BIRTH ON KELP BEDS IMPOSSIBLE, Page 104 of The Case. (See ‘Aquatic Birth Impossible.’’) I have never seen young seals born at sea, nor _N. IV. Anderson, p. 223. on kelp; nor do I believe they can live on kelp beds. Nor do they ever give birth to their young on — Bernhardt Bleidner, p. the kelp.‘ 15. 122 THE PUPS. Bowa-chup, p. 376. Seals do not give birth to their young in the water nor on the kelp; if they did they would be drowned and die. Thos. Brown (No. 1),p. I do not think that seals give birth to their 319. young on tlie kelp. Landis Callapa, p. 379. Nor do I think that they give birth to their young upou the kelp. Charlie, p. 304. Seals do not give birth to their young in the water nor on the kelp. Nor do they give birth to their young on the water or on the keld. I never caught any little black pups along the Circus Jim, p. 380. coast. I used to catch a great many gray ones on the coast, but caught but one this year. Louis Culler, p. 321. The seals do not give birth to their young in the water, nor upon the kelp. I have never seen seals born in the water or on beds of kelp, nor do I believe a young pup could live if brought forth Jas. Dalgarduo, p. 364. at sea. Frank Davis, p. 383. Nor do they give birth to their young in the water nor on the kelp. Jeff Davis, p. 384. They do not give birth to their young in the water or on the kelp. Dick, or Ehenchesut, He states that there are no kelp patches outside, p. 306. where seals resort or where they breed. Ellabush, p. 385. I have never known pups to be born in the water nor on the kelp. F. F. Feeny, p. 220. IT have never seen nor heard of a seal born at sea nor on kelp. Wm. Foster, p. 220. T have never seen pups born on kelp beds, and T am certain they can not live and thrive on kelp beds. We have never seen fur-seal pups of the same season’s birth in the water or on patches of floating kelp, and do not think they could be successfully raised under such Nicoli Gregorof et al., 234. Pe conditions. p. 23 Arthur Griffin, p. 326. Nor do they give birth to their young on the kelp. It is asserted that the fur-seals give birth to their young also on kelp patches, and lie asleep on their backs, with their W. 8S. Hereford, p.34. offspring in their embrace, clasped to their breasts. This is descriptive of the sea-otter, but is not true of the fur-seal. BIRTH ON KELP BEDS IMPOSSIBLE. 123 I have never seen a young fur-seal pup of the same season’s birth in the water at sea nor on a patch of floating kelp, and in fact never knew of their being born any- Norman Hodgson, p.367. where save on a rookery. I have, however, cut upon a gravid cow and taken the young one from its mother’s womb, alive and crying. Ido not believe it possible for a fur-seal pup to be successfully raised unless born and nursed on a rookery. Ihave seen fur-seals resting on patches of floating kelp at sea, but do not believe they ever haul up for breeding purposes anywhere except on rookeries. Nor neither do I believe it to be possible for Alfred Irving, p. 387. them to have their young in the water or on the kelp and have their pups live. Nor do they give birth to their young in the water or upon the kelp. I think a pup born in water or upon kelp would — Jshka, p. 387. sink and die. Nor [do seals] give birth to their young in the — Selwish Johnson, p. 388. water or on the kelps. I have no knowledge of fur-seal pups being born in the water or on patches of floating kelp, and do not believe they . could be successfully raised under such conditions. 774"# Korth, p. 235. I never saw a pup seal in the water noron beds — &Z, L. Lawson, p. 221. of kelp, and I do not believe it possible for them to be raised there. I have never known of fur-seal pups being born on patches of floating kelp or in the water, at sea, or anywhere in fact, save on regular rookeries; neither do I believe it — James E. Lennan, p. 370 possible for them to be reared successfully under any other circumstances. Nor do I believe that they give birth to their James Lighthouse, p.389. young in the water or on the kelp. Nor do I believe they give birth to their young = Thomas Lowe, p. 371. in the water or on the kelp. Seals do not give birth to their young in the Moses, p. 309. water nor on the kelp. I have never seen any pups born on kelp. P. C. Muller, p. 223. I do not believe that pups born on kelp could be properly nursed and brought up. I do believe that it is necessary to their successful existence. that they be born on Arthur Newman, p. 210. land, since they can not swim at birth. Seals do not give birth to their young in the Osly, p. 390. water nor on the kelp. : 124 THE PUPS. Seals do not give birth to their young in the water nor on the kelp. I never saw any black pups in the water, but we Wilson Parker, p. 392. used to catch a great many more gray pups than we do now, and I have never captured any cows along the coast that were giving milk and that had given birth to their young that year. Seals do not haul out upon theland along the coast and give birth to their young; nor do they breed om the kelp. If Chas. Peterson, p. 346. eVer there was such an occurrence it must have been a premature birth caused by some accident to the female seal, and would result in the death of her young. I never hunted fur-seals, but I have a knowledge of their habits and movements, and I never saw a pup seal in the Wm. Rohde, p. 222. water or on a bed of kelp, and I know a pup seal could not live and thrive on a kelp bed. William Short, p. 348. | Nor do I know of any instances where the seals give birth to their young on the kelp. John A, Swain, p. 350. | Nor do they give birth to their young on the kelp. John Tysum, p. 394. Nor do they breed on the kelp or in the water. Charley White, p. 396. Nor do I think they give birth to the young in the water on the kelp. Wispoo, p. 397. Seals do not give birth to their young in the water nor on the kelp. PODDING. Page 105 of The Case. When the pups grow to be 6 or 8 weeks old they form in “ pods ” and work down to the shore, and they try the water at K. Artomanof, p. 109. the edge until they learn to swim. By the middle of July the mothers were going constantly back and forth to sea; the pups, left more to themselves, J. Stanley Brown, p.16. collected in groups—“ pods,” as they are called— and by the last of July they worked their way down to the shore and began learning to swim. The pups remain upon the rookeries at or near where they are born until about 5 or 6 weeks old, when they congre- H. H. McIntyre, p. 41. pate in groups or “pods.” At that age [6 or 8 weeks] they form themselves into “pods” and work themselves down to the water’s edge. After S. R. Netlleton, p.75. Several days of repeated trials and failures they finally learn to swin. — itka Sound, At this time the seals are advane- 256. ’“ ing up the coast. Last year (1891) I hunted for sealsat sea. We first met them in the region of Prince William Sound, and tollowed Julius Christiansen, p. them to the vicinity of the Barren Islands off 219. Cooks Inlet. Have first taken seal off Sitka Sound the middle of April. Followed sae the seal up the coast as far as Yakutat, where Peler Church, p. 237. — they disappeared the last of June. Jas. Claplanhoo, p.381. Seals generally appear off Cape Flattery about the 20th of December. About the 1st of January seals begin to appear around the cape and slowly make their way north and are gone by the middle of July. The grown cows are the first to %o, and leave before the middle of June. Young seals remain to the last. : Have hunted fur-seal nine years in Dixons Entrance and off Prince ae of Wales Island, in and between March and June. Wm, Clark, p. 293. he seal disappear early in June, going north. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences in the Pacific about Danl. Claussen, p. 412. the Ist of January and ends about the 1st of July. @. When does sealing commence in the Bering Sea and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences in the Bering Sea about the 1st of July and ends about the last of October. Q. Judging by the direction that seals were traveling in the spring of the year, during your experience, where do you suppose was their destination?—A. To the reokeries in the Bering Sea. * Cook. THE COURSE, 169 -T have observed that fur-seals first appear in the neighborhood of Cooks Inlet in small schools about the middle of April, coming from the southward, and increasein — ar. Cohen, p. 225. numbers until the latter part of May, traveling along the coast of the mainland from the eastward to the westward. Upon the approach of winter the seals leave their home, influenced doubtless by the severity of the climate and de- crease in the food supply. They go southward, WW. H. Dall, p. 23. making their way through the passes of the Aleu- tian chain. In latitude 50° or thereabouts, extending across the Pacifie east and west, is a warm current of about 70 or 80 miles in breadth; in this warm water are found fish and crustaceans. This current sets eastward and is somewhat quickened at the approach of spring im har- money with the monsoons of its place of origin. In the spring and fall I have seen seals in these warmer waters, but in August, when I once crossed the current, they were absent. Undoubtedly the seals find there agreeable temperature and sufficient food supply, and, following the eastward set of the current and the migrations of the fish, find their way to the western coast of the United States and, thence turn north- ward being influenced by the bountiful food supply along the northwest coast, and finally by that route return to their home upon the Pribilof Islands. The cows seem to disappear from the coast sooner than the young seals do. The seals first appear off the cape about Christ: — FrankDavis, p. 383. mas, and I have caught young seals as late as July. First found and taken seal off Cape Flattery in January and followed them up the coast into Bering Sea, which they , enter about June 20. Ercan PAAR ae Sele At Afognak, where I was for two years engaged in fur trading, han- dling skins and furs of all descriptions, I observed that the fur-seals first appear off that part of the — John Duff, p. 277. coast in small numbers about the latter part of the month of April. hey were most numerous towards the middle of June, passing in schools from the eastward to the westward, following general trend of the coast. The seals appear in the straits of San Juan de Fuea the latter part of December, and are all gone by the middle of July. Ellabush, p. 385. The full-grown cows leave this vicinity for the north earlier than the younger ones do. I catch more young seals in May and June than I do earlier in the season. A year ago last March I saw a heard of seals of from 500 to 600 just above Cape Mendocino. I have also often met large numbers scattered along the coast of Cape af, C. Erskine, p.421. Flattery, generally from 10 to 20 miles offshore. J have never been around the coast from Sitka to Prince William Sound. From what I have seen and heard I believe seals are found from Cape Mendocino up to Cape Flattery in the winter months. In December, 170 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. January, February, and March of the years 1890 and 1891 T was running on regular passenger trips from here to Puget Sound. I frequently saw both seals and hunters. I think the seals commence to leave the coast working their way north in March and April. Two years ago this spring, within 20 or 30 miles off Cape Flattery, west of the coast of Van- couver I sighted one trip five or six sealing schooners. The seals generally appear in the Bering Sea about the latter part of April. I think, however, their arrival depends a M. C. Erskine, p.422. great deal upon the season. The large bachelor seals and the old bulls are the first to enter the sea about April or May, and the cows generally commence to arrive and are seen by thousands in the middle of June. This seal herd is migratory, leaving the islands in the fall or early winter and returning again the following spring; Saml. Falconer, p.164. and it is my opinion that the adult males, called “bulls,” return as near as they are able to thesame place on the same rookery year after year. In fact the natives pointed out to me one old bull who had returned to the same rock for five years successively. During June and the first part of July the females and pups go through the Passes, and, entering Bering Sea, again seek the islands. During their second summer the young seals herd together, the females not going upon the breeding grounds. Again in the fall they leave their home on the approach of cold weather and make the second mi- gration south. After this migration the females, now “ two-year-olds” or “ virgin cows,” go on the breeding rookeries, and the young males on the hauling grounds. I have observed while engaged in hunting sea-otter, that fur-seals first appear off this part of the coast in the vi- Vassili Feodor, p.230. Cinity of Cape Elizabeth, about the middle of the month of April, and are most numerous about the middle of June. They move across the mouth of the inlet from the eastward to the westward in schools. Wm. Foster, p. 220. The seals appear off Cooks Inlet about May Ist. They appear off Unga about the Ist of June. I always hunted seals in Dixons Entrance, and off Prince of Wales and Queen Charlotte islands in March and June. OCI; Beem The seal disappear in June towards the north. There are seal in Dixons Entrance in March, but the wind blows so hard that it is imposible for us to hunt them in Luke Frank, p. 294. canoes. Have always hunted in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island during the month of May and June each year. The seal all disappear about the first of June, going north. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific, and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences in the Pacific about sees T. Franklin, P- the beginning of February and ends about the ; 1st of May. Q. When does sealing commence in the Bering Sea and what date THE COURSE. 171 does it end?—A. Sealing commences in the Bering Sea about the Ist of May and ends about the last of September. Q. Judging by the direction that seals were traveling in the spring of the year, during your experience, where do you suppose was their destination ?—A. The seal islands and the Bering Sea. When the seals leave the island they go southward and through the passes of the Aleutian Islands and into the Pa- 7) pai nae cific Ocean. Q. When does scaling commence in the Pacific and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences about the Ist of January ana ends about the middle of July in Edward W. Funcke, p. ies 428, the Pacific. Q. Judging by the direction that seals were traveling during your experience, where do you suppose was their destination?—A. Well, they were bound toward the Bering Sea, I should judge. Thave found fur-seals always plentiful in the water, in the spring and early summer, off the Alaskan Peninsula, along the fishing banks, from 20 to 30 miles distant from land, but have seldom seen them at much greater distance than 30 miles. Frank M. Gaffney, p. Oe We first find the seal off Cape Flattery in January. I followed the seal up the coast into Bering Sea, where we ar- rived the last of June. Chad George, p. 365. Have hunted seal between Sitka and Cross sounds. They first ap- pear about middle of this month* and disappear about the last of June. James Gondowen, p. 259. The seals are found off the coast of California in January of each year, and the sealing fleet goes along with them as they proceed northward, nevel losing track of EM. Greenleaf, p. 324. them and fishing every ood day. By the latter part of June fleet and seals have arrived in the vicinity of the Aleutian Island grasses. Pr regnaney is now far advanced, and young ones taken from their dead mother’s womb have lived several days on the decks of the ships. Those that I caught last year—the pups, I mean—were thrown overboard. In the latter part of March a few fur-seal usually first make their ap- pearance in Prince Willliam Sound, and are most plentiful in the latter part of April. They are Oa Ch aly B- mostly large males, very few females being taken, ~ aud those “only towards the close of the season, in the latter part of ay. First seal seen and taken were off Cape Flat- Jas. Grigin, p. 433. tery, about April 15, and followed the seal into Bering Sea, where we arrived about July. Fur-seals were first met off Cape F lattery as early as the first part of the month of January, and increased in numbers until the early part of June, diminishing again 4, J. Guild, p. 231. towards the latter part of the month. Their mi- *April. LZ MIGRATION OF THE HERD. eratory ovement is from the southward to the northward, following the general trend of the coast line. They first approach the coast en masse about Cape Flattery, but [ have known of stragglers being seen as far south as Coos Bay. The vessels in which I sailed followed the seals up the coast of Vancoaver Island as far north as Clayoquot Sound, at which point we left them in the latter part of July, owing to their searcity. Other and larger vessels followed them toa gre: ater distance, generally going up into Bering Sea, and keeping along with the main herds. Have you any experience as to the habits of the fur-seals?—A. Not any nore than they seemed to emigrate in Chas.@.Hagman,p. 435, the winter and go north in the summer. That is all I know of their habits. I have never seen them out of the water. (). What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the Pacific and up to what time do you continue2?—A. From the 1st of February, as a general thing , until about June,on the coast. Then we used to go in the Bering Se ea. Lhave not, been there for four or tive years. ; (. What time of the year are the seals all out of the Pacific, having gone to the Bering Sea?—A. They generally leavein June. You don’t see but very few after June. I do not remember ever having seen a fur-seal in the water between the Four Mountain Islands and Attu Island. The Chas. J. Hague, p.207. Main body of the fur-seal herd bound to and from the Pribilof Islands move through the passes of the Fox Islands, Unimak on the east and the West Pass of Umnak on the west being the limits between which they enter Bering Sea in any number. Ido not know through what passes the different categories move or the times of their movements. Rarely see fur-seals in the Pacific between San Francisco and the immediate vicinity of the passes. Have hunted fur-seal in a canoe. Have had my hunting lodge on Dundas Island and Nicholas Bay, and hunt seal Henry Haldane, p. 281. from the last of March to the first of June off Prince of Wales Island, in Dixons Entrance, and Queen Charlotte Sound. They all disappear about June 1 on their way north. First find and take seal in January off Columbia River. They are _ then advancing up the coast. We follow them Martin Hannon,p. 445. until they enter Bering Sea about July Ist. (. Have you any experience as to the habits of the fur-seal?—A. I have been catching a good many of them. I don’t H. Harmsen, p. 442. Know much about their habits. You mean on the coast? Q. Yes; their general habits of going and coming?—A. Yes, they generally come round on the coast about a week before Christmas and up until about the middle of June, when they leave the coastand go age . What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the Ps a and up to what time do you continue?—A. We start out about New Year’s. Q. What time do you come in again ?—A. About the middle of Sep- tember or October. “entas ©P. Island in April. The seals then are on the ad- THE COURSE. 173 Q. What time of the year are the seals practically out of the Pacific, having gone to the Bering Sea?—A. About the middle of June. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences in the Pacific about the 1st of January and ends about the last of Wm. Henson, p, 483. June. @. When does sealing commence in the Bering Sea and when does it end?—A. It commences in the Bering Sea about the lst of July and ends about the 1st of November. Q. Judging by the direction that seals were traveling in the spring of the year during your experience, where do you suppose was their destination?—A. They gonorth Wm. Henson, p. 484. during the spring of the year. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific, and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences there about the Ist 4,4, : 4 Andrew J. Hoffman, p. of January and ends about the Ist of June. 46, ee Have seen and taken the first seal off the west coast of Vancouver vance up the coast. E. Hofstad, p. 260. In regard to the migration of the seal, from all I have learned I am of the opinion that the seals upon leaving the ab nine Pribilof Islands, make their way to the coast of g93 °° 7 OPO "0 ty Ps California and Oregon in much less time than is ; generally supposed. The females and young leave first, commencing in October. The younger males follow, and I am convinced, join and remain with the females until they return to the islands, although it appears that they do not haul out at the same time as the females. We found the females, yearlings, and two-year-olds of both sexes to- gether at all times. [have been told by seal hunters that it is no unusual thing to find a young male keeping watch near a sleeping female; that when but two seals are seen together one is a young male and one a female, and that, if either, it is the female that is asleep. It is well known that many seals, especially males, remain on the islands well into the winter. According to the statement of a hunter who was on board at the time, the British schooner Borealis, Hanson, master, raided Southwest rookery on St. Paul Island on the night of November 27, 1891, and took 480 seals, which would indicate that at that time seals were still plentiful on the island. I visited the Pribilof Islands about January 23, 1886, in command of the revenue steamer Rush, and was told that a “ drive” had been made the day previous to our arrival and 1,000 seals killed. Quite a large number of seals were on the rookeries at that time—all males [ was told. We sailed on that cruise January 2 via Puget Sound about Jan- uary 9. During the passage from Puget Sound to Unimak Pass, after clearing the land we saw fur-seals nearly every day. These were prob- ably some of the last to leave the islands, and were on their way to the American coast in search of food and a milder climate. Those which left earlier were already upon the coast. As shown by the affidavits of the sealers, they begin to take seals on the coast of California in Janu- ary e ld bulls are rarely seen south of Cross Sound, while we found them 174 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. plentiful and apparently in peaceful possession of a liberal supply of red rockfish about 75 miles off Yakutat. As the cold weather approaches, the females and young leave Bering Sea, and about two months later appear off the American coast, where they find a genial climate and an abundance of food. They appear on the coast of California and Oregon simultaneously with the smelt and herring. As I previously reported, we learned upon our arrival at Astoria, March 18, that the smelt had come and gone; that they were unusually early this year. We were told by the sealers off the coast at that time, and our observations confirmed it, that the seals were mov- ing north unusually early. On the coast of Alaska in April and May, when according to our observations and the testimony of the Indians seals are most plentiful, we found the bays filled with herring, smelt, and eulachon. The seals commence to appear in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca about the 1st of January or the last of December Alfred Irving, p.386. and come and go to the middle of July. The gen- eral course seemed to be to the north, and by the middle of June the grown cows were most all gone, but the younger ones used to be quite plentiful until about the middle of July, when they would also disappear. Q. What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the Pacific and up to what time do you continue?— Gustave Isaacson, p.439. A. In the middle January or February. Q. What time of the year are the seals all out of the Pacific, having gone to the Bering Sea?—A. About the latter part of June. Q. What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the Pacific, and up to what time do you continue?—A, Frank Johnson, p. 441. From the latter part of January, generally, until the latter part of September; the middle of Sep- tember. Q. What time of the year are the seals practically out of the Pacific, having gone to the Bering Sea?—A. I always found them very scarce in the latter part of June. Selwish Johnson, p. 889. Seals appear off Cape Flattery in December and January and nearly all of them are gone by the first of July. The seals first make their appearance about the middle of April off Lo = Sitka Sound, and disappear about July 1. They P, Kahiktday,p.?62. are then on their way up the coast. Do not knowwhere the old bulls spend the winter, anddo not know the routes the fur-seal herds take in their migra- Saml. Kahoorof, p. 214. tions to and from the Commander and Pribilot islands; neither do I think the two herds come near enough together in these latitudes to mix. P. Kashevaroff, p. 261. First seal were seen off Sitka Sound in May by me. We followed the seals as far as Sand Point on Unger Island. THE COURSE. 175 In the winter time some young seal frequent P. Kashevaroff, p. 262. the inside passage. Have always hunted them in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island between Marchand June. Hunt them until the last of May, when the seal dis- King Kaskwa, p. 295. appear, going north. Always hunted in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Islands in May and June. In June the seal all go up north. They come in March, but it is too stormy Jim Kasooh, p. 296. to hunt them. Have first seen seal off Sitka Sound about Mike Kethusduck, p. 262. April 15. They all disappear by the last of June. T usually commence the voyage near the coast of California in the early part of January and continue along up the coast, following the herd on its way to its breed- Jas. Kiernan, p. 450. ing grounds until the latter part of June, hunt- ing all the way and entering Bering Sea about the Ist of July, and remaining in those waters until about the LOth or 15th of September. Have hunted fur-seal for twelve seasons off Prince of Wales Island. Have always hunted seal a month and a half before the small birds hatch, and they hatch about Jas. Klonacket, p. 283. June l. The seal all go north about this time. Have hunted fur-seal for three years in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island in the month of May. The seal all leave there by the first of June; Robert Kooko, p. 296. think they go north. Fur-seals usually first appear in Prince William Frank Korth p. 235, Sound in large schools, early in the mouth of April. The most of the bulls leave the island in September, and the cows in the last of October and early in November, and the pups leave in No- vember; sometimes when the weather is warm a few seals remain until January at Northeast Point and on ‘“‘Sea Lion Rock.” In 1890 we killed seals at both places late in January, and we seen seals on Sea Lion Rock in January, 1892. I have noticed that the seals go off south as soon as the Jacob Kotchooten, p. 131, beach becomes icy, and when the land is sur- rounded by drift ice the seals disappear entirely. I do not know where the seals go to when they leave the island, but Ido think they come back to the same rookery every year. First seen and taken seal off Sitka Sound; about the middle of April each year they make their appearance. They are _, _ then working northward and westward. a Lae a At this village we see no seals in the spring, but late in the fall, in late October, we go out in our bidarkas and catch with spears and sometimes guns the young pups van Krukoff, p. 205. which were born on the seal islands in the sum- 176 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. mer and are now ;zoing south. We do not use nets. There are no old seals with these pups; they are the young pups that are driven in by by the strong north winds. We go out as far as the cape at the mouth of Makushin Bay and find the pups here and there; they are never together in great numbers. When the seals leave the islands they go to the southward, and when they come back in the spring they come from that Aggei Kushen, Dp. 130. direction. The bulls begin to leave the island about the middle of August, and most of them are gone by the middle of September. The cows and bachelors leave in November and the pups follow or go with the cows. When the weather is good a number of seals will cling to the beach or remain in the water around the rookeries until December and sometimes until late in January. Have always hunted off Sitka Sound. The seals generally make their appearance about April 15 of each year. Geo. Lacheek, p.264. They are then advancing up the coast and disap- pear entirely about July 1. In the Victoria vessels we started in to hunt fur-seals off Cape Flat- tery in February both years, following the seals E. L. Lawson, p. 221. along the coast as far as the Fair Weather ground. In the American vessels hunting began at Sand Point in June, and, working on with the main herd from that vicinity, we followed the seals through Unimak Pass into Bering Sea. We left Vancouver Island on the 1st of June, and on the 9th of the same month, when off Baranoff Island, put over the hunting canoes for the first time. We stayed with the main herd of the seals until the 26th of June, following them along the coast to the vicinity of Cape St. Klias, where we lett them and stood across to the entrance to Aku- tan Pass, occasionally taking a few fur-seals. Sealing operations were resumed on July 13 to the southward of the Tox Islands, and on the 23d we entered Bering Jas, E. Lennan, p.370. Sea, where we remained fourteen days, at the end of that time returning to Vancouver Island, which was reached on the 28th of August. The vessels leave port, the most of them going out either from Vic- toria or San Francisco in the early spring, and Isaac Liebes, p. 452. commence their season’s work off Cape Flattery in April or the early part of May. They then fol- low the seals upon their northward passage towards Bering Sea and finally, in June or early in July, into those waters, killing every animal possible as they go. They formerly commenced their voyages still fur- ther south along the California coast, but as seals have become scarcer, they do not, in the last year or two, get many south of the Oregon coast. The first seals appear in the strait and on the coast about the last of December and feed along the coast, and seem to James Lighthouse, p.390.be working slowly to the north, until about the middle of June, at which time the cows are pretty much all gone, but the smaller seals remain until the middle of July. rere THE COURSE. gare I seldom see an old bull, and when I do he is much farther from land, and it is early in the season. The seals appear off the coast outside of the heads in the early part of January. They are traveling all the time north, and from that time on to June they are /Viiliam E. Long, py. 457, traveling towards the Bering Sea. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific and when does it end?—A. It commences about the Ist of January and ends about the last of June. Charles Lutjens, p. 458. Q. When does sealing commence in the Bering Sea and when does it end?—A. Sealing commences in the Bering Sea about the 5th of July and ends about the middle of September. Q. Judging by the direction that seals were traveling in the spring of the year, during your experience, where do you suppose was their destination?—A. The Bering Sea. First seal were taken off Cape Flattery about George Me Alpine, p. 266. the middle of February. We followed them up the coast as far as Mount Edgecumbe. Have hunted from San Francisco to Kadiak. 7, D, McDonald, p. 266. First start to hunt about the last of March. They are constantly on the move up the coast. The fact remains, however, that the great mass of the pups migrate with their elders down through the passes between the islands of the Aleutian Archipelago into the #H. H. MeIntyre p. 42. North Pacific, and are found at any time during the winter months east of longitude 170° west and north of latitude 35° north. Toward spring they appear in increasing numbers off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington, and as the season advances still farther north along the British Columbia and Alaska coasts in March and April; thence westerly in May and June and July until they reappear in Bering Sea. The course pursued by the seals in their migration is, to some extent, a matter of conjecture, and the knowl- edge upon which evidence is given concerning it can not of course be based upon actual personal cognizance by any one man of all the facts from which the conclusion is reached; but it is, nevertheless, I have no doubt, as accurately stated in this paragraph as is warranted by any series of observations. The pups which I have so far followed in their first migratory round, now appear as “yearlings.” They spend perhaps the greater por- tion of their time, the second summer, in the water, until the latter part of August and September, when they come upon the land, both sexes herding together indiscriminately. They are not at this time, nor are their elders, particularly timid. Upon the near approach of a human form they start toward the water, but generally stop and look about them, unless closely followed, without any indication of fear, and leis- urely proceed to the beach, or again lie down upon the sand or rocks. The same demeanor in the water, when about the islands, as they calmly float upon the surface until a boat is almost upon them before they awaken to any sense of danger, seems to indicate that they feel at home on and about the islands. They again migrate southward for the second time, upou the approach 12BS 178 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. of cold weather, going a little earlier than in the preceding year, make the same round, and return to the isiands as “two-year olds” in June or July. Now the sexes separate, the females going upon the breed- ing grounds, where they are fertilized before the old male leaves the island in August. il id . After coitus on shore the young female goes off to the feeding grounds or remains on or about the beaches, disporting on the land or in the water, as her inclination may lead her. The male of the same age goes upon the “ hauling grounds” back of or beside the rookeries, where he remains the greater part of the time, if unmolested, until nearly the date of his next migration. Here he has only the native islander’s club to fear, which, in the best inter- ests of commerce, should not be used on him until the following year. After the third migration the female returns to the breeding grounds to be delivered of her first pup, and the male cones again to the haul- ing grounds, but, as a whole, considerably earlier than he did when 2 years old. Here he remains pretty constantly, if he escapes the club, until the beginning of the rutting season, when his instincts lead him to stay much of the time in the water adj: acent to the breeding grounds through which the females are passing from and to the rookeries, or when allowed by the older non-breeders, to coquette with the females upon the beach stones awash at the edge of the water. The fourth and fifth migrations are about the same as the third. The female has already become a yearly producer of a single offspring, and the nonproducing male is, in each of the fourth and fifth years respect- lv ely, contributing a deer easing number of skins tor market, and gain- ing size and strength to enable him, when 6 or 7 years old, to usurp the authority and jurisdic tion of some old male whose days of useful- ness are numbered. This change is not effected without sanguinary conflicts. Q. What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the Pacifie?—A. I have varied always from the 11th Alex. McLean, p. 436. of January until the 11th of February. @. When do you call the season’s catch over ?— A. About the 11th of September; probably a month later. I usually get back about the 11th of September. Q. What time of the year are the seals all out of the Pacific, having gone to the Bering Sea? What months?—A. To my knowledge they would go into the Bering Sea after the 20th of June. Q. What time of the year do you generally start out sealing in the Pacific, and up to what time do you continue?— Daniel McLean, p.443. A. I start out about the 15th of December and stay out until about the 1st of October. Q. What time of the year are the seals practically all out of the Pacific, having gone to the Bering Sea?—A. About the 15th of June. Not all, but the body of them. He states that fur-seal are rarely seen in Barclay Sound, and are usually found off the coast at a distance of from John Margathe, p. 308. 5 to 15 miles. They are found in clear water, and never close the land. The seal first raake their appearance in March Frederick Mason, p. 284. off Prince of Wales Island, and leave about the middle of June, THE COURSE. LS I believe the seals come to the islands from the southward, and when they leave in November or December they go southward through the passes of the Aleutian Isl- S. Aelovidov, p. 147. ands and into the Pacific Ocean. When they do leave the island they go southward and pass once more through the passes of the Aleutian Islands ; he and out into the North Pacific Ocean. Sh ED a The only seals taken by the natives of this place [Unalaska] are the this season’s pups that go through the passes dur- ing the period between the last of October and §. Melavidoff and D. Sal- the last of November. The northerly winds bring amatoff, p. 209. them in the direction of this harbor, and the natives go out in their bidarkas and spear and shoot them for food. Sometimes we find old male seals with them, but we dare not attack them in the bidarka. The mothers are not with them, and there are usually no seals of older age with them. They are the weaker of the pups, the stronger ones going on through the passes. No old seals haul out on shore here. The seal hunting commences in March and ends about the middle of June. The seal are constantly going north dur- ing that time. * * * I have seen a few fur- Amos Mill, p. 285. seals in the waters near Prince of Wales Island in the months of May and June. Start the season off Cooks Inlet. The first seals : are seen about May. a ER eae? Am at present hunter on the schooner Henry Dennis. First hunted seals off the Farallone Islands in February, and followed them up the coast into bering Sea, @. £. Miner, p. 466. which they enter about the 10th of July. i think the seals are constantly on the move up the coast. The fur-seals usually appear about Cooks Inlet Metry Monin, etal. p. 225. early in the month of May. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific, and when does it end?—A. It commences about the 1st of January and ends about the last of June. HD aM DIG Ret P ak 00: @. When does sealing commence in Bering Sea and when does it end?—A. It commences about the Ist of July and ends about the 1st of November. Q. Judging by the direction the seals were traveling in the spring of the year, during your experience, where do you suppose was their destination?—A. The Ber- Frank Moreau, p. 469. ing Sea. The Alaska fur-seal is migratory, leaving the Pribilof Islands in early winter, going southward into the Pacific and returning again in May, June, and July to 7, F. Morgan, p. 61. said islands, _ 180 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. From the islands the pup with his fellows goes southward, passing through the passes between the Aleutian Islands, T. F. Morgan, p. 62. and holds its course still south til lost sight of in the ocean. From this time until the herd reap- pears off the Californian coast their course is a matter of belief; but from information of sea captains of coasting vessels who have sailed during the winter, seals during December and the first part of January are found heading southeastwardly toward the Californian coast. In January and IF ebruary they begin to appear along that coast; then turning northward they proceed along the coast, reaching Vancouver Island about March, the Southern Alaska coast in April and May, and in June the herd reénters Bering Sea and proceeds again to their island home. It is impossible to state the course or exact time of migration with complete accuracy, but this course here designated I believe to be approximately correct. The pups which left the island the year before have now become *“ yearlings,” the males and females herding together indiscriminately and not coming on shore until some time in ‘August or September; they also leave the islands a little earher than the first year and make the same course of migration as before. On their sec- ond return to the island as “ two-year-olds” the sexes separate, the fe- males going on the breeding rookeries where they are fertilized by the bulls, and the males hauling up with the nonbreeding males, called “bachelors,” on the so-c alled ¢ hauling grounds.” The ‘* two-year- olds” again migrate southward over the same course as formerly. On their return to the islands the female goes again to the breeding rook- eries and there brings forth her first pup. From this time forward she increases the seal herd by one pup annually, and the male of the same age is on the hauling grounds and is now considered of a killable age. “The fourth and fifth migrations are practically the same as the third. Matthew Morris, p. 286. First took the seal off this island [Prince of Wales] in May. The seal first come into Dixons Entrance in March. The weather is bad during that month, and I do not hunt them in canoes. The seal are constantly on the move. north. Nashtou, p. 298. Always hunted fur-seal between March and June. They make their appearance in March in Dixons Entrance, but at Smith Natch, p. 298. that time of the year the weather is so bad we eat hunt them. May is the best time to hunt them, because the weather is always good. They all disappear in June and go north up the coast—I think, to have their pups. When I was a boy I hunted seal in Dixons Entrance and off Queen Charlottes Islands. Always hunted during April and May. In June the seal all leave, going north. Dan. Nathlan, p. 286. Hunt in Dixons Entranee and Queen Charlotte Sound. The seal make their appearance the last of March and dis- appear the Ist of June, and I hunt them during that time. Jos. Neishkaith, p. 287, THE COURSE. SS as fF | We first discover seals on their way to the creer rc breeding grounds in January and February, off “' “0” P- 470. Cape Race. I observed that the fur-seals usually commence to move through both the East and West Passes of Umnak into Bering Sea about the last of May, the majority enter in Arthur Newman, p. 210. the latter part of June, while very few are to be seen moving north after the middle of July. The seals going north through these passes are mostly females and young bachelors; very tew bulls go that way. The natives first reported fur- seals moving south through the same passes about the 1st of October. The majority pass into the Pacific between the 20th of October and the first of November, while the last ones are usually observed about the 25th of November. The seals moving south are gray pups, and medium-sized seals, the for- mer in the majority. Ican not distinguish the sex of fur-seals in the water. Seals leaving the Bering Sea via the Western Passes are generally seen moving steadily towards the south during northerly and north- westerly weather, but very rarely before a northeasterly wind. I think a somewhat larger portion of the seal herd moves through the East Pass of Umnak than through the West Pass. The proportions of pups, etc., are about the same, however. * * While sailing between San esa and Unalaska I never saw a fur-seal in the water between sight of the highland of the Aleutians and San Francisco, but close to the Fox Islands generally fell in with plenty of them. I never saw a fur-seal in the water between Amukta Pass and Attu Island. Fur-seals are very little known at Atka and Attu, and it is my be- lief that the farthest west the main herd moves to and from Bering Sea is through the Four Moun- 4rthur Newman, p. 211. .tain Islands Pass. The seal always come here before the birds begin to sing very much, rand they are all gone when the salmon berries get ripe, which I think is between the months of Nikla-ah, p. 288. March and Julysser 2 he About the time the wild geese are flying north the seals are most plentiful. We commenced hunting outside of Cape Cook, about 5 miles from shore, and hunted from there up to Unamak Pass, in the Aleutian Islands and entered the Bering John Olsen, p. 471. Sea about the 5th of June, and was ordered out of the sea the 19th of June. Seals first appear off Cape Flattery about the 1st of January, and pass on up the coast and begin to disappear in June, the old cows leaving first, and about the Osly, p. 391. last of June they are all gone. 182 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. My observation on this coast is, that the young seals are nearest to land and the cow seals have a course some farther Wm. Parker, p. 344... Out. The bulls are still farther out and much more scattered and shy. The seals lay around off the coast of California and north of there until early in February, when they commence to work slowly along up the coast and enter Bering Sea in June and July. Their habits in this respect are well known to the hunters. The seals first appear in this vicinity about the Ist of January, and pass along up the coast in June and July. The Wilson Parker, p. 892. COWS most all disappear in June and the younger seals a little later. I do not know at what times or by what routes the seal herds move to and from the Bering Sea; have heard old hunt- Filaret Prokopief, p.216. evs ‘Say the Cominander Islands herd used to pass close to the western shores of these islands on their way north. T have found that seals appear off the Farralone Islands about Christ- mas, off British Columbia in March, off Yakutat W. Roberts, p. 241. Bay April 15th. Beginning at Cooks Inlet, in the spring, we find seals off the inlet ee aoe in May traveling westward along the coast to- Wm. Rohde, p. 220. ward the Bering Sea. Adolphus Sayers, p. 473. We commenced to seal from the Cordell Banks off the coast of California right up to the Bering Sea. At the time my book was written the regular migratory habits of the animals were not as well understood in respect to C. M. Scammon. p. 474. the routes of migration as they are now, and naturalists always commence their description with the arrival of the different classes of seals at the northern breed- ing grounds, begining with the “ bulls” in the early spring, following them with the “cows” and “ bachelors” at a later date, and then tak. ing up the birth and development of the young. This, I think, resulted from our ignorance of where they spent the winter months. Now it is well known that the Pribilof seals work their way down to the coasts of California, Oregon, and British Columbia, and go north again in the spring; and that the Commander Islands herd migrates down the Asi- atic coast, the two herds keeping apart from each other. I held this opinion many years ago, as is Shown by my letter to the honorable Secretary of the Treasury, written August 30, 1869, as follows, and later observations and reading have confirmed my conclusions: “SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., “ August 30, 1869. “Srr: While on the station at Puget Sound frequent opportunities offered to observe the habits of the fur-seals. “T have long been of the opinion that those seen off the mouth of Juan de Fuca Strait were a portion at least of the great herds that make THE COURSE. Too their annual visits to the islands of St. George and St, Paul, Bering Sea. ‘¢ Since my return to this city I have gathered further information which convinces me that beyond question the seals passing the mouth of the strait during the months of March, April, and a part of May resort to the above-named islands to bring forth their young, as nearly all the females (and no others are caught) taken by the Indians at this point have foetuses in them that to all appearances would be brought forward on their arrival at their northern summer haunt.” I have no doubt the northern seals of the Pribilof Islands spread over a very wide extent of the North Pacific in winter. They are occasionally seen far off from land, but ©. MZ. Scammon, p, 475. are much more numerous within soundings. Have hunted seal off Sitka Sound, where they first make their ap- pearance about April 15, and remain in greater or less numbers till the last of June. Martin Singay, p. 268. Seal first make their appearance about April15 Jack Sitka, p. 268. off Sitka Sound, and disappear about July. Always hunted seal in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island, and hunted them each year from March to June. The seal allleave about June 1, to go north Thomas Skowl, p. 300. and have their pups, I think. We commence hunting when the geese begin to fly and hunt for a month and a half. The geese commence to fly ; “eee about the last of April. cong caSiat ota, terse Have seen and taken seal off Cape Flattery in March. ‘They are constantly advancing up the coast. I followed them into Bering Sea, where they arrive about Fred. Smith, p.349. July 1st. First seal seen and taken by me were off the Columbia River in January and February. The seal at time were a red eon y : William H. Smith, p.478. Cc ran) e I do not know much about the particular habits of the seals except that they go north in summer and south in winter. Cyrus Stephens, p. 480. First struck the seal off the Columbia River about February 1. ee y Follow the seal up the coast into Bering Sea, ee 4 which they enter early in July. Joshua Stickland, p. 549. Q. When does sealing commence in the Pacific, and when does it end?—A. It begins the Ist of January, up to about the Ist of July. Gustave Sundvall, p. 480. Q. When does sealing commence in the Bering Sea, and what date does it end?—A. From the 15th of July until the 1st of November. 184 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. Q. Judgirg by the direction that seals were traveling during your experience, where do you suppose was their desti- Gustave Sundvall, p. 481, hation?—A. I can not tell their destination, but I should judge they went south in the fall from 15 to 500 miles offshore, and in the spring they travel to the northward from 5 to 100 miles offshore. Have first seen and killed seal off Sitka Sound about April 15, and disappear entirely about July 1. M. Thlkahdaynahkee, p. 269. The hunters follow the seal from south of San Francisco, where they begin to take them in February until they enter W. Thomas, p. 485. Bering Sea. The seal are constantly on the ad- vance up the coast from the time they first appear. Seal have been seen and taken on the coast by me from the 10th of April till the 4th of July. At the beginning of Charlie Tlaksatan,p.270. the season they are plentiful, but scarce at the close of the season. They are constantly going north along the coast. Jno. C. Tolman, p. 222. The seal are taken off Kadiak Island about the 1st of June. Took seal along the coast as far as Yakutat. First seal were seen and caught last year off Sitka Sound and last year Peter Trearsheit, p. 271. off Salisbury Sound in April and May. The seal are working to westward all the time. John Tysum, p. 394. Seals appear on the coast about the last of De- cember, and they are nearly all gone up north by the middle of July. * * * The cow seals leave the vicinity of Cape Flattery sooner than the young seals do, and are almost all gone in June; but I have killed young ones as late as July. James Unatajim, p. 271. The first seal make their appearance on this coast off Sitka Sound. They are then advancing up the coast. George Usher, p. 291. The seals at this time [May 10th] of year are always going north. Rudolph Walton, p. 272. Have seen and taken seal from the middle of April to the middle of May. They are on their way north at that time. First seal are seen and taken by me off Sitka Sound. When I was a boy seal came into the sound very close, but: Charlie Wank, p. 273. now Ihave to goa long ways to get them. Seal do not stop off the sound long, but are constantly on the move north and west. THE COURSE. 185 The seals appear in these waters late in April and increase in num- bers until the latter part of May, and then grad- ually decrease in numbers until about the 15th of wv. L. Washburn, p. 488. July, when they all disappear. The seals first appeared about the cape the last of December, and the grown females all leave for the north in June; but we kill some of the younger seals up to the Watkins, p. 395. middle of July, and then they leave. I have not caught any gray pups this year, and have never hunted seals in the Bering Sea. Leaving the islands late in the fall or in early winter, on account of the inclemency of the weather, they journey south- ward through the passes of the Aleutian Archi- Daniel Webster, p. 180. pelago to the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington, and, gradually working their way back to Bering Sea, they again come up on the rookeries soon after the ice disappears from the shores of the islands; and my observation leads me to believe that they select, as near as possible, the places they occupied the year before. I first took seal off Sitka Sound during the month of March. Have done my sealing all this year between Cape Edg- cumbe and Cross Sound. P.S. Weittenhiller, p. 274. Seals begin to appear on the coast the latter part of December, and they are almost all gone by the 10th of July. The cows appear to leave for the northward earlier Charley White, p. 396. than the younger ones. About the 1st of June the seal disappear from Billy Williams, p. 300. Dixons Entrance and go north. The deponent resided in the Hawaiian Islands for a period of twenty years during the time his firm was engaged in whaling and sealing as above stated; during that ©. 4. Williams, p. 539. time he was brought in contact with many mas- ters of vessels and other sea-faring men, who made frequent voyages between the Hawaiian Islands and Puget Sound, and he learned from them that during the months of November and December they occa- sionally encountered schools or ‘ pods” of seals moving from north towards the lower coast of California; he himself in one of his voyages in the month of November, saw such “ pods;” and from these facts and his knowledge of the habits of the seals which frequent and have their home on the Pribilof Islands, he is satisfied that the herd of said islands confine their migration to the waters of the American side of the ocean, and that when they leave the islands they go through the passes ofthe Aleutian Islands to the coast of southern California, and thence along up the coast again to the Pribilof Islands. The seal all disappear off Prince of Wales Fred. Wilson, p. 301. Island in June; I don’t know where they go, but think they go north. Seals first appear off Cape Flattery about the last of December. The cows seem to leave first, and in July nearly all of the seals have disappeared. Wispoo, p. 397. 186 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. First seal are seen and taken by me about the middle of April of each year. There are more or less of them on the Michael Wooskoot, p. Coast till the Istof July. First part of the season 274. they are plentiful, but towards the last they be- come scarce. During the above-mentioned period the seal are on the move to the westward. Have hunted fur-seals the last two years in Dixons Entrance and around the Prince of Wales Island, between Billy Yeltachy, p. 302. March and June. The seal leave here in June and go north. Have always hunted in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Island. Theseal make their appearance in March Hastings Yethnow, p. and disappear in June, going north. The reason 302. we don’t hunt the seal in Marchis that the weather is so bad we can not go out in our canoes. We consider May the best month for fur-seal hunting. Begin to hunt seal off San Francisco in February, and followed them up the coast as far as Shumakin Islands, which Alf. Yohansen, p. 368. We reached the last of June. The seal all disap- peared from there at this time. Paul Young, p.292. Seal make their appearance off Prince of Wales Islandsin April. Always hunted in Dixons Entrance and off Prince of Wales Is- a ah land. The seal all disappear about the 1st of Ah £OUNI, Pe OV Tune and go north, I think. The cow seals are the first to leave the coast, but the young seals stay longer here, and are not all gone until in Hish Yulla, p. 398. i ala »* 2 July. I do not know through what passes of the Aleutian Islands the fur- seal herds move into the Bering Sea, nor at what Pud Zaotchnoi, p.213. time theydo so. Ihave seen so few fur-seals, and never any but a few scattering gray pups, that I am unable to form any ideas regarding the decrease of the fur-seal species. The seals first appear off the cape about Christmas, but do not come in the straits now like they used to, and they are Thos. Zolnoks, p. 399. Very Shy and wild. They appear to be passing to the northward, up the coast, and in July are all gone. MANNER OF TRAVELING. Page 125 of The Case. From their habits in the water the seals are known as “jumpers” or * breachers ” when they are moving through A. B. Alexander, p. 355. the water, “rollers” when they are lying idle on the surface and moved by every wave, “ finners” whenn they are resting and finning themselves with their fins, and MANNER OF TRAVELING. 187 “ sleepers ” when they are asleep on the smooth water and can be ap- proached to within close range. In those days there were a great many seals in the water, and they would go in bands of 15 or 20) Bowa-chup, p. 376. together. When the seals are asleep on the water they lie on their backs with the fore flippers sticking up and held close to the head. They always lay’ with the head toward oe William Brennan, p. 359. wind, the flippers being spread out and acting sails to keep them steady i in the water, ic it hard for a boat to approach them when they are awake, because the noise of the oars is carried to them. If a boat comes upon them from the windward they will take the scent and dive, and if from leeward they readily see it, and do the same. I saw but very few seals between here and San Diego, but north from here to Victoria I have formerly seen large herds of them sleeping and playing on the water dur- Leander Cox, p. 416 ing the winter and spring months. In May and June they congregate “about the passes to enter the Bering Sea, and I have seen them i in great numbers at this time. I have noticed that the seals gather in large herds at the passes about the time they are ready to go into the Ber- ing Sea, and that they are more Scattered when M. C. Erskine, p. 422 seen along the coast. As the bulls are scattered about and go out to sea a great distance, it does not pay to go after them, while the females go in big bands and do not travel offshore as far George Fogel, p. 424. as the bulls. We first fell in with fur-seals moving north early in the month of February, about 50 miles off the coast, in the re- gion of Cape Mendocino, California. They were Norman Hodgson, p. 366. very scarce then, but as we traveled up the coast we found them more numerous. They were most plentiful off the mouth of the Columbia River in the early part of the month of March. The migratory movement of the fur-seal is from the southward to the northward and westward, following the general trend of the coast of the mainiand. The main herd is most compactly massed between 40 and 60 miles offshore, but some of the seals scatter and straggle over an area a long distance on each side of that. The males are generally in advance of the females on the passage north. Females are “found i in the greatest numbers off Baranoff Island about the middle of the month of May. We followed the main herd up the coast as far as the south- western end of Kadiak Island, where we usually left them on account of their diminished numbers. The seals which I have observed on their way to the Pribilof Islands do not move in large schools; they straggle along afew at a time in a sort of a stream, and are often Chas. J. _ Hague, p. 208. seen Sleeping in the water and playing. 188 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. They appear to travel in two columns, the outer column containing an army only of bulls. and the inner one mostly Morris Moss, p. 341. cows and yearlings. These columns are not con- tinuousschools of seals, but rather small parties seattered along. The column traveling along the British Columbia coast head for the Pribilof Islands; their natural breeding ground. Fur-seals travel in large schools, which follow each other closely. The annual migration of their entire number oc- T. W. Smith, p. 233. cupies from three to four weeks in passing a point in the region of Prince William Sound, and they move from the southward and eastward to the northward and west- ward. HERD DOES NOT LAND EXCEPT ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. Page 126 of The Case. T have no knowledge of the existence of any rookeries or any place: where fur-seals haul up on the landin the North- Andrew Anderson,p. 217. ern Hemisphere other than those fur-seal rookeries. on the several seal islands of Bering Sea. IT never knew of fur-seals hauling out to rest or breed at any place in the Aleutian chain, or anywhere, in fact, except C. H. Anderson, p. 205. the well-known rookeries of the several seal is- lands of Bering Sea. Ido not know nor have I ever heard of any place where seals haul N. W. Anderson, p. 223 out or breed except the seal islands of the Ber- re ae son, p. 223. . : Ing Sea. Peter Anderson, p. 313. Nor have Lever known fur-seals to haul up any- where on the land except on the Pribilof Islands. Have never known of fur-seals hauling up on the land on the coast: of Alaska. Have seen them haul up on the Pri- Adam Ayonkee, p. 255. bilof Islands. Q. Do you know of any place where seals land outside of the seal islands?—A,. The seals are found only on certain Geo. Ball, p. 482. islands, where they migrate from year to year for the purpose of breeding—throwing their pups. I know of none, nor neither do I believe there is any place where the fur-seals haul up to breed on land along our shores Wm. Bendt, p. 405. orin the Bering Sea, except on Pribilof Islands. Milton C. Bennett, p. 357. Have never known seal to haul up on the coast anywhere outside of the Pribilof Islands. Martin Benson, p. 405. I have never heard of any fur-seal hauling up on the coast elsewhere than onthe Pribilof Islands. The Alaska fur seal breeds nowhere else except on the Pribilof Islands. I took particular care in investigating Charles Bryant, p.4. the question of what became of the seal herd while absent irom theislands. My inquiries were made — ed as LANDS ONLY ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 189 among the Alaskan Indians, half-breeds, Aleuts, and fur-traders along the northwest coast and Aleutian Islands. One man, who had been a trapper for many years along the coast, stated to me that in all his ex- perience he never knew of but one case where seals had hauled out on the Pacific coast, and that was when four or five landed on Queen Char- lotte Island. This is the only case I ever heard of seals coming ashore on the American side of the Pacific except the Pribilof Islands. I never saw or heard of any fur-seal rookeries in these (Bristol Bay, Aleutian Islands, and from Kadiak Island to Prince William Land) regions, except those on the Carlos G. Calkins, p. 105. seal islands of Bering Sea. Neither have I ever seen any fur-seals in abundance save on or near said seal islands. Have never known seal to haul up anywhere Charles Campbell, p. 256. outside of the Pribilof Islands. I have never known of seals hauling out on land Jas. L. Cartheut, p. 409. anywhere on the coast except at the Pribilof Islands. I do not know of any place where the seals haul Charles Challall, p. 411. up on this coast except on the seal islands. We all have an intimate knowledge of the coast of Alaska from Kadiak to Unalaska, and know of no fur-seal rookeries other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. Vassili Chichinoff et al., p. 219, Have never known of any seals hauling up on_ §. Chinkoo-tin, p. 257. the land on this coast elsewhere than on the Pribi- Jof Islands. Q. Do you know of any place where seals land, Daniel Claussen, p. 412. outside of the sealislands?—A. I do not. Have never known or heard of fur-seals hauling John C. Clements, p. 258, up on the land on this coast elsewhere than the Pribilof Islands. I do not know of and have never heard of fur- 4%. Cohen, p, 225. seals landing at any point but the seal islands of Bering Sea. Mother seals pregnant are more easily caught than young bachelors, and I am sure it is necessary for them to go on land to breed, and I have never heard of them Peter Collins, p. 413. going anywhere else than on the seal islands for that purpose. On my cruise to St. Matthews and Unamak Island, we did not dis- cover any seal within 25 or 30 miles of those is- lands, nor do I know of or believe that the seals 1. C. Caulson, p. 416. haul out upon land in any of the American waters of Bering Sea, except at the Pribilof Islands, 190 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. I have never known of a pup being born or of hauling grounds ex- isting anywhere along the Alaskan coastor in the W. H. Dall, p. 23. islands adjacent thereto, except the Pribilof Is- lands. I have heard stories and traditions to that effect, but I have never known of their being substantiated. I have cruised up and down the coast of Vancouver Island, but never found a place where fur-seals hauled out James Dalyarduo,p. 364. upon Shore, nor have I ever heard of any fur-seal rookeries in the Northern Hemisphere, except those in Bering Sea. Hooniah Dick, p. 258. Never have heard of any fur seal being hanled up on the coast or rocks of Alaska other than on the Pribilof Islands. George Dishow, p. 323. Have never known fur-seal to haul up on the land anywhere on the coast except on the Pribilof Islands. J have never known or heard of any fur-seal hauling up on the land in British Columbia or Alaska outside of the Wm. Duncan, p. 279. +Pribilof Islands. My connections with the In- dians have been such that had there been a fur- seal rookery in British Columbia or Alaska I certainly should have known it. I have never seen fur-seals in the waters of Anchor Point, and am positive that no fur-seal rookery exists in the Elias Esaiassen, p. 230. region, nor have I ever heard of any other rook- eries than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. The fur-seal only lands upon the Pribilof Group of islands. Of this fact L am thoroughly convinced from carefully Saml. Falconer, p.164. questioning natives of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and also from my coasting experience as purser on board the Constantine. In all the years I passed in these pure Tnever heard of a seal landing anywhere except on the Pribilof slands. al LT. Franklinsp. QQ. Do you know of any place where seals land, ae outside of the seal islands?—A. I do not; except in the fall, they land on the Aleutian Islands. From 1859 to 1869 I was employed on whaling vessels working in Bering and Okhotsk seas and the Arctic Ocean, John Fratis, p. 107. Ihave been along the coast of Bering and Okhotsk. seas and along the coast of Alaska in the Nortb Pacific Ocean from Sitka to Unalaska, and I never saw or heard tell of any in American waters in that whole region, where the Alaskan fur- seals haul out on land or breed, excepting on the seal islands of Bering Sea know as the Pribilof Islands. Edward W. Funcke, p. . Do you know of any place where seals land 428, outside of the seal islands?—A. No, sir; I do not, LANDS ONLY ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. rt Have never known any fur-sealto haul out on the land or on the coast elsewhere than the Pribi- Chad George, p. 366. lof Islands. And I have never known of any place where yen ae they haul up on land except the seal islands. cai a I have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land in any part of Alaska, except on thePribi- Gonastut, p. 238. lof Islands. Never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land or on the coast elsewhere than on the Pribi- Jas. Gondowen, p. 259. lof Island. Have never known seal to haul up on the land nee io along the coast, except on the Pribilof Islands. 8, Gt Bede Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on ape ve the land elsewhere than on the Pribilof Islands. EN ee UE i I never have known or heard of fur-seals hauling up on land any- where on the North Pacific orAlaskan coast, or islands thereof, except on the seal islands. J. M. Hays, p. 27. Ihave made diligent inquiry into the habits of the seals and have yet tolearn that they haul up on land on the American coast or islands except the Pribilof a7, 4. Healy, p. 29. Islands, at which place alone they bear their young. Q. Do you know of any place where seals land, ee Poi outside of the seal islands?—A. I do not; no, sir, 9% *@"80% Pe *o* Q. Do you know of any place where seals land Andrew J. Hoffman, p. outside of the seal islands ?—A. No, sir. 7. Have never known of seal to haul upon the 9 7) 2 ; ee . Holm, p. 368. land anywhere, except on the Pribilof Islands. In all those years I have met and talked with hunters, trappers, traders, and miners whose business called them into Alaskan waters, and I never knew or heard Edward Hughes, p. 37. tell of any fur-seals hawing out on land to breed anywhere on the Alaskan coast or islands in the North Pacific or Amer- ican waters of the Bering Sea, excepting the Pribilof Islands, I have never known fur-seal to haul out upon any part of the coast of the United States, British Columbia, or Alaska, except the Pribilof Islands. All parts of the Victor Jackobson, p. 329. coast have been visited by the seal-hunters, and if seal hauled out any place it would have been known by the hunters. Never knew any seal to haul up on the land on on ee J. Johnson, p. 331, the coast elsewhere than on the Pribilof Islands. auimLD A te 192 MIGRATION OF THE HERD. Have never heard of fur-seal hauling up on the land or on the coast elsewhere than on the Pribilof Islands. * * * Philip Kashevarof, p. When I was with the Russian Company I spent 262. six years looking for rookeries, but was unable to find any place where fur-seal hauled out elsewhere than on the Pribilof Islands. Have never known any fur-seal to haul out on the land on the coast of Alaska; have heard that they do haul out on M. Keihusduck, p. 263. the Pribilof Islands. | They never show themselves out of water in the Kickiana, p. 306. locality of Barclay Sound. He has seen them on beach in the Bering Sea. Have never known any seal to haul up on land or on the coast of Alaska, but have heard that they haul up on the John Kowineet, p. 264. Pribiloff Islands. T have no knowledge of the existence of any fur-seal rookery or place where fur-seals haul up on the land, other than on Olaf Kram, p. 236. the rookeries of the several seal islands in Ber- ing Sea. Have never known of fur-seals hauling up on the land on the coast of Alaska, but have heard that they haul up on George Lacheek, p. 265 the Pribilof Islands. I know of no place along the eastern coast where fur-seals haul out on land, and I do not believe there is any outside of Andrew Laing, p. 335. the Pribilof Islands. During my travels in Alaskan waters I have made extensive investi- gations concerning the existence of fur-seal rook- Jas. E. Lennan, p.370. eries, especially about the region of Cooks Inlet and Prince William Sound, where rookeries have been reported to exist, as well as those places where fur-seals are annually observed in the greatest numbers. I am, therefore, positive in my belief that no such fur-seal rookeries, or other places where fur- seals haul out on the land to breed, exists in Alaska with the exception of those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. The breeding seals, as far as I can iearn from extended inquiry, do not come upon land, except at their regular rook- Isaac Liebes, p. 455. eries, and there are none of those outside of the sering Sea islands and Robben Bank. Young seals are sometimes driven for a few hours by stress of weather into the inlets about the Straits of Fuca and vicinity. IT never saw pups born in the water, nor do I know of any fur-seals hauling up on the land anywhere save the rook- E,W. Littlejohn, p. 457. eries on the various seal islands in Bering Sea. , y Q. Do you know of any place where seals land Chas, Lutjens, p. 459. gytside of the seal islands?—A. No, sir; I know of no place. LANDS ONLY ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 193 Have never known or heard of seal hauling up on the islands or main coast of Alaska, other than on the Pribilof Islands. Have seen a few pups in Cordova Bay late in J, D. McDonald, p. 267. December, where they were driven by strong southeast gales prevailing on the coast at that time. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the coast anywhere, outside of the Pribilof Islands, 74%. eKeen, p. 267. @. Do you know any place where these seals go to land, except the seal islands on the American side?—A. No, sir; not any place that I know of. There have been , lots of reports of places, but I have been to these places and could not find any seals there. Alexander McLean, p. I have never seen or heard of a fur-seal being hauled up on the land anywhere in this part of Alaska, nor do I believe 7 that old fable that is told by some of the old /7¢¢ Mason, d. 284. men that fur-seal once did haul up here, or any other part of Alaska outside of the seal islands. Have never known seals to haul up on the coast of Alaska outside of the Pribilof Islands. & 2: Minor, p. 466. @. Do you know of any place where seals land __ : outside of the seal islands?—A. I do not; no, sir, rant Moreau, p. 468. The Alaska fur-seal breeds, Iam thoroughly convinced, only upon the Pribilof Islands; that I have been on the : Alaska coast and also along the Aleutian Islands; % / ‘organ, p. 61. that at no point have I ever observed seals to haul out on land except at the Pribilof Islands, nor have I been able to obtain any authentic information which causes me to believe such is the case. I have never known or heard of any place : a where seals haul out except seal island. P. C, Muller, p. 228. I know of no places that the seals haul up in the Bering Sea or North Pacifie for breeding purposes except St. George, St. Paul, Otter Island, Bering Island, Niles Nelson, p. 470. Robben Island, and Copper Island. IT have seen sick and wounded fur-seals hauled out on rocks about the passes to rest and die, but know of no place where they habitually land to breed or restin the 4rthur Newman, p. 210. region, Save the several well-known seal islands of Bering Sea. I know of no place where they haul up on land ee a ‘ John Olsen, p. 472. except the Pribilof Islands. i Do not know of any rookeries in the Aleutian Islands, nor any places where fur-seals haul out regularly on the land or kelp to breed or rest except the Russian and £liah Prokopief, p. 245. American seal islands of Bering Sea. ia 133B Ss 194 MIGRATION OF HERD. I know of no place where fur-seals haul out on Wm. Rohde, p. 222. land except the seal islands of Bering Sea, nor have IT ever heard of such a place. I do not know and I never heard of any other place along the Ameri- can coast or islands where the fur-seals haul up, L. G. Shepard, p. 189. and it is my opinion that the fur-seal pup of the Alaskan herd is born nowhere else but on the Pribilof Islands. Ido not know of any other place on our coast Jas. Sloan, p. 498. : ee q . : where the seals haulup except at the seal islands. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on Fred Smith, p. 349. the land anywhere on the coast except on the Pri- bilof Islands. Have never heard of fur-seals hauling up on Wm. H. Smith, p. 478. the coast elsewhere than on the Pribilof Islands. Have never known of fur-seal hating up on the Joshua Stickland, p. Jand on the coast anywhere except on the seal 350. islands. Q. Do you know of any place where seals land Gustave Sundvall, p. outside of the seal islands?—A. I do not know 481. of any place; no, sir. Have never known any fur-seals to haul up on M. Thikahdaynahkee, p. the land or on the coast elsewhere than the Pri- 269. bilof Islands. I have never known myself of fur-seal hauling up on the coast of Alaska outside of the Pribilof Islands, but have W. Thomas, p. 485. heard there were a few one season hauled on Oumnak Island. J have never known any fur-seal to haul out on J. C. Tolman, p. 223. the coast of Alaska anywhere except on the Pri- bilof Islands. Have never seen or heard of seals hauling up on the coast, elsewhere than on the Pribilof islands. They very seldom Peter Trearsheit, p. 271. come nearer this coast than 20 miles, when ad- vaneing north towards Bering Sea. I never have known and do not believe that the Chas. T. Wagner, p.212. seals at the Pribilof Islands haul up on land any- where except on those islands. Have never known fur-seal to haul up on the Rudolph Walton, p.272. coast on anywhere else outside of the Pribilof Islands. And know of no instances where male seals Michael White, p. 490. have hauled out on land on the western coast ex- cept at the Pribilof Islands. he DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. — 195 HERD DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. Page 127 of The Case. No fur-seals are ever seen in Cooks Inlet above — Jno. Alexandroff et al. Anchor Point. p. 229. There is no place on the coast where the seals haul up and give birth to their young; they never give birth on the kelp. H, Andricius, p. 514. Myself and tribe go to the coast as far as Wrangel and trade with the Killisnoo Indians for oil. Have never seen a fur-seal in all my travels up and down the coast. Anna-tlas, p. 254. Have never heard of fur-seal hauling up on any part of the coast. If seal had been hauled up on any part of the coast I should have been told of it by the people of other tribes with whom T have come in contact during the long years of my life. We are positive that the majority of fur-seals do not enter Cooks Inlet, but pass across its entrance, following the coast of the mainland. We have occasionally ob- served a few seals whieh had strayed into the lower bays of the inlet, but they have only been seen at long and in- frequent intervals. There are no fur-seal rookeries in this part of Alaska. Nicoli Apokchee et al., p. 224. Have killed fur-seals, mostly females with pup, but have never seen or heard of fur-seals hauling up on the land in Ande. i RST. this part of Alaska, or anywhere else. * * * / Have never known of nor have I seen any fur-seal in the waters of Disenchantment Bay or any other inlet in this part of Alaska. They do not frequent these places. I have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land in this part of Alaska. Nor have I ever seen or heard of any fur-seal being in the inland waters Johnny Baronovitch, p. of this part of Alaska. I have never heard of any 276. fur-seal hauling up on the land in any part of Alaska. Have never known any seal pups to be born in the water or on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska. Have never seen or heard of seals hauling up on the Maurice Bates, p. 277. land around this part of Alaska. I have never seen any fur-seal around Annette Island or any of the inland waters of Alaska. Nor have I known of any seal hauling up on Edward Benson, p. 277. the land anywhere in Alaska. I have never seen any fur-seals in the water around Annette Island. There is no place on the coast where the seals Bernhardt Bleidner, p. haul up on the land and give birth to their): young. I know of no place where seals haul up on the Niels Bonde, p. 316. coast, nor do I believe there is any. 196 MIGRATION OF HERD. I do not know of any place along the coast where seals haul out upon the land, nor have I ever heard of such a Bowa-chup, p. 376. place, and I have never killed any full-grown cows who were in milk. Seals do not haul out upon the land along the coast, nor give birth to their young on the kelp orin the water. Ihave Henry Brown, p. 318. never heard the Indians or white sealers say that , there is a place on the coast where seals haul out and breed. I know of no place along the coast where seals haul out upon the land; nor have I ever heard of such a place; nor Petcr Brown, p. 377. neither does any of my people know of such a place. Landis Callapa, p. 379. 1 know of no place where seals haul out upon the Jand to breed on this coast. * * * I scarcely ever see an old bull along the coast, and it is seldom we ever catch one. I do not know of any place on this coast where seals haul up and breed, nor have I heard the Indians on Vancou- Charlie, p. 304. ver Island talk about any such place. Nor |do I believe that] any seals hauled up on Toodays Charlie, p. 249. any part of the coast of Alaska or on the islands adjacent thereto. Peter Church, p. 257. Nor have I ever known fur-seal to haul up on the land anywhere on the coast of Alaska. Circus Jim, p. 380. Seals do not haul out on the land along the coast to breed. I know of no piace along the coast where seals haul out upon the land, nor do I think that they give birth to their Jas. A. Clapianhoo, p. young in the water or on the kelp. I am ae- 382. quainted with the different tribes of indians along the coast of Vancouver Island, and have never heard them say that seals haul out upon the land on the coast or in Barclay Sound. I have never known of seal to haul out on the land anywhere in this part of Alaska or British Columbia wherever I William Clark, p. 293. have been. He states that to his knowledge the seals do not breed in the waters of Barclay Sound, but go ashore tor that purpose Clat-ka-koi, p. 305. along distance to the northward. He has never seen seals on shore in Barclay Sound, or on kelp or other objects. When fishing outside he has never seen baby seals, Sometimes a few seals follow schools of herring into sound and go out hurriedly. On such occasions a few are killed, DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. 197 But [have] never [observed seals] entering Cooks Inlet above Anchor Point. They cross the entrance of the inlet and appear off the mainland again in the vicinity of . Cohen, p. 225 Jape Douglass. Have never known of any pups being born in the water or on the land on the coast of Alaska. I have never heard of any or seen any fur-seal hauled up on the land anywhere around Prince Edward Island or anywhere else on the coast. Charlie Dahtlin, p. 278. Seals do not haul out upon the land along the Frank Davis, p. 383 coast and breed. T have never killed any cows giving milk along the coast, and I do think there is a place along the coast where seals ; haul out and breed. Ne De ae I never knew or heard of seals hauling up along Joseph Dennis, p. 418. the coast or giving birth to their young in the water. To his knowledge, no seals ever came inside Barclay Sound, and that he never caught any inside, and, moreover, he and his friends never heard of any entering these waters. No seals are ever killed in Barclay Sound by being dashed on the rocks, and none ever breed in Barclay Sound or vicinity. Dick or Ehenchesut, p. 306. Have traveled from Hoonah to Fort Simpson and north as far as Chileat through ail the channels and sounds in southeastern Alaska, and I come in contact with Hooniah Dick, p. 258. the people of many tribes of Indians, and I have never heard them say that they had ever seen or heard of a fur-seal be- ing hauled up on any part of the coast or on any of the islands along the coast of Alaska. Had they ever known of a rookery of fur-seal in any part of Alaska I should have known it. Have never known any to haul up on the land anywhere in Alaska, nor have I ever seen any sealin the inland waters ae or wherever I have been in Alaska. es Esai Seals do not haul out upon the land along the £labush, p. 385. coast and give birth to their young. I have observed a few scattering fur-seals in the lower part of Cook’s Inlet, but only at long and irregular intervals; I have never seen a fur-seal in the waters of Cook’s Vassili Feoder, p. 230. Inlet above Anchor Point. I have never known of pups to be born in the water or on the land anywherearound Queen Charlotte Islands or other parts of British Columbia and Alaska, where I Frank, p. 294. have been. J have never known any seal to haul vn the land on Queen Charlotte Islands or any part of British Colum- bia or Alaska; nor have Lever heard of any seal having hauled up any- where in British Columbia or Alaska, 198 MIGRATION OF HERD. IT never knew any fur-seal to be in the inland waters around this part ee e of Alaska, nor have I ever known any fur-seal to Chief Frank, p. 289. haul wp on the land anywhere in Alaska. Never knew any fur-seal to be born in the water or on the land around British Columbia or Alaska. Never knew any Luke Frank, p. 294. fur-seal to haul up on the land in British Colum- bia or Alaska. In the winter season many years ago pup seals used to frequent the sound, driven in by the heavy southeast gales Nicholi Gadowen, p.250. prevailing at that time; but the last four years there has not been a fur-seal seen in any part of Chatham Sound that I have been able to learn of. I visit the different parts of the sound with my tribe when they are making oil and have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land or rocks in any part of Alaska that I ever visited. I have never seen or heard of fur-seal hauling up on the land in this . , part of Alaska. I have never seen a fur-seal in Chas. Gibson, p. 281. the inland waters beween Port Chesterand Loring. Have never seen any fur-seal in the inland waters of southern Alaska, but have heard of pups being seen in the Gonastat, p. 238. bays during the prevalence of storms on the coast in winter time. Kassian Gorloi, p. 213. I have never known of fur-seal hauling out on the shores or floating kelp patches to rest or breed in this region. Arthur Griffin, p. 826. Seals do not haul out upon the land along the coast. JT have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land. Old fables tell us that they hauled up at one time, but Ihave Henry Haldane, p. 282. been unable to learn that they ever did. Never seen any fur-seal anywhere around this island or in any of the inland waters. Never have known of a fur-seal pup being born in the water or any- where else in Alaska, nor have I ever heard of fur Jac. Hartlisnuk, p. 239. Seal being hauled out on the land in Alaska. I have traveled from Icy Bay to Sitka Sound and meet many Indians belonging to other tribes of Indians, and they never have told me that they had ever seen any fur-seal hauled out on the coast of Alaska or on any of the rocks adjacent thereto. I have heard that fur-seal do haul out, and that the pups are born on the Pribilof Islands. Never heard of any fur-seals being hauled up on the land on any part of the coast of Alaska where I have traveled. Sam Hayikahtta, p. 239. * * * JT travel from Iey Bay to Sitka, and have never heard Indians of other tribes say that they had seen fur-seals hauled out on the land, nor have I ever heard them say that pups were born in the water. DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. 199 Have never known fur-seal_ to haul out on the land anywhere on the coast of Alaska. Have never been in Ber- ing Sea. E. Hofstad, p. 260. IT am intimately acquainted with the coast from here to Barclay Sound, and I know of no place, nor have not heard of any place, where seals come to land. Alfred Irving, p. 387. Seals do not haul out upon the land along the [shka, p. 387. coast and breed. I do not think that they haul up on the landon James Jamieson, p, 331. the coast. Have never known pups to be born in the water or on the land in this part of Alaska. Have never known or heard of fur-seals hauling up on the land on the coast Jack Johnson, p. 282. of Alaska. Seals do not haul out upon the land and breed Selwish Johnson, p. 388. along the coast. Have never known pups to be born in the water or on the land any- where on the coast of Alaska. Have never known any seal to haul up on the landin Alaska, [have Johnnie Johnston, p. 283. never seen any fur-seal in the inland waters of Alaska wherever I have traveled. I have visited all the inlets and islands in Chatham Sound and other parts of Alaska as far as Sitka and never saw a fur-seal in the inland waters; nor have I Kah-chuck-tee, p. 248. ever heard of a fur-seal being seen in the inland waters. Have never heard of any fur-seal being hauled up on the land or rocks on or off the coast of Alaska. Had fur-seal been hauled up on the main coast or islands of Alaska, I should have known it, as the news would have been brought to me by the Indians of different tribes who came to purchase oil from my people. Have never known a fur-seal to haul up on the P.Kahiktday, p. 261. land anywhere on the Alaskan coast. Do not know of any rookeries or places where fur-seals regularly haul out on the land or kelp to breed in tke Aleutian Islands, and do not think there is such Saml. Kahooray, p. 214. a place. Have never killed or seen a fur-seal in my life, nor have I ever heard of any fur-seal having been seen in the inland waters of Alaska where I have traveled. Had Kaskan, p. 247. any fur-seal been hauled up on the land in any inlet around Chatham Straits, Stevens Passage, or any of the waters of southeastern Alaska, I would have known of it, as it would have been told me by the people of other tribes. Have never seen any fur-seal hauled up on the land anywhere, nor have I ever heard of any being hauled up on the __ land, either in British Columbia or Alaska. King Kaskwa, p. 296. 200 MIGRATION OF HERD. I never knew far-seals to haul out anywhere on Jim Kasooh. p. 296. the land in Alaska, nor have I ever heard of any being hauled out. My business calls me away from this place to the different inlets and islands around Chatham Sound, and have never Albert Keetnuck, p. 250. seen or heard ot fur seal anywhere in the sound. The Indians who buy my fish oil belong to tribes who live long distances away. Have never heard them say that they ever saw any fur-seal hauled ont on the islands, rocks, or any part of the mainland of Alaska. Had they hauled out on any place in Alaska I should have known it myself or would have been told of it by the Indians who come long distances to purchase oil from me. I visit all the islands and rocks in following my business, in Chat- ham Sound, and have never been able to see a fur- Geo. Ketwooschish,p.251. seal in any part of the waters of southeastern Alaska in my life. Have never heard of any seal being in the waters nor on the land or rocks off or on the coast of southeastenr Alaska. * * * Following my occupation, the people of other tribes come a very long distance to buy of me the oil which I make. Had there ever been any seal hauled out on any part of the Alaskan coast it would have been told to me by these people who come to my home to buy oil. Have never known any fur-seal to haul out on the land, nor have I heard of any being hauled out on the land from Kingooga, p. 240. people of different tribes whom I have met. Have traveled from Icy Bay to Wrangel and have never seen any seal in the inland waters in my life. A few fur- seal pups have been killed in the bay within my remembrance, in the winter seasons, driven there by the storms on the coast at those times. C. Klananeck, p. 263. Have never seen any fur-seal hauled out on the land in any part of Alaska. I don’t know of any fur-seal hauling up on the land anywhere in : ogn 4 AAlaska or sritish, Columbia, and I dow’t know vas. Kionagkel, 2. 203. here they do haul up, Have never heard of fur-seal hauling up on any land in Alaska, nor ___ have I ever heard of seal pups being born in the George Klotz-klotz, p. 247. ater or on the coast of Alaska. In my dealings with the people of other tribes with whom I come in contact they would liave told me had they known of any fur-seal having hauled up on any part of the Alaskan coast visited by them. I have never seen or heard of any fur-seal being in the inland waters around Chatham Sound or any other place in Konkonat, p. 251. Alaska. Nor have I ever heard of any seal being hauled up on any of the islands or on the coast of southeastern Alaska. Had any seal hauled up on the land or islands of southeastern Alaska I would have known it by hearing the Indians from other tribes talking about it who came to buy oil. Robert Kooks, p. 296. Have never known any fur-seal to haul out on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska. DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. 201 I never knew any old seals of any kind to haul out on the shores in this vicinity, nor have I ever heard any old men AS A) say they ever saw any old seals haul out. Loge Hanuieon, pe 200. Tam intimately acquainted with the bays and coast from here to Barclay Sound, and I know of no place on the coast, neither have I heard of any, where seals Jas. Lighthouse, p. 389. haul out upon the land and give birth to their young. I know of no place on the coast where they haul Thos. Lowe, p. 371. out upon the land and breed. Never knew of pups being born in the water nor anywhere else. Never knew any fur-seal to haul up on the land net ee : along the coast of Alaska. pee LO AUINO shee: T have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land on the coast around this part of Alaska. I have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the Zawad. Maitland, p. 284. land anywhere in Alaska. I have never seen any fur-seal around Annette Island anywhere. Seals do not breed in the locality. A few one-year-old pups have been caught during the winter. Last season 700 or 800 seals were caught off the coast by the na- 7!” Margathe, p. 308. tives of villages on Barclay Sound. I have never known any seal to haul out on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska or British Columbia, and I never heard of any hauling out in Alaska Chas. Martin, p. 297. or British Columbia. I know of no place on the coastwhere the seals Thorwal Mathasan, p.339. haul up on the land. I have become well acquainted with the coast while engaged in my business of prospecting, traveling along it ina ; canoe and entering all bays, inlets, streams, ete., Robt. Michaelsen, p, 232. between the points above mentioned, and am posi- tive that no rookeries exist in that region. * * * In Cook Inlet the water is very muddy above Anchor Point, and I have never known fur-seals to be seen beyond it. Below that point a few stragglers are occasionally observed, but never more than two or three at a time. Ihave never seen any seal hauled out on the Amos Mill, p. 285. land anywhere around this part of Alaska. They do not enter Cook Inlet, and there are no Metry Monin et al., p fur-seal rookeries in or about this part of Alaska. 226. I have never known any pups to be born in the water, or any fur seal to haul up on the land in this part of Alaska. I have never seen any fur-seal in the water any- Matthew Morris, p. 286. where around in the island waters of Alaska. 202 MIGRATION OF HERD. Tam familiar with all the bays and inlets on the west coast of Van- couver Island. I do not know of any place along Moses, p. 309. the coast where seals haul out upon the land and give birth to their young; nor have I heard the Indians on the Vancouver Island talk about any such a thing. I have visited all the islands between here and Sitka and in other parts of the sound, and have never seen any fur- Billy Nah-hoo, p.252. Seal in the waters in my life. Never heard of any fur-seal pup being born in the water, nor have T heard ofany fur-seal hauling up on the land or islands in southeastern Alaska or anywhere else. Had pups been born in the water or seals hauled up on the land on any part of the coast it would certainly be known to the Indians and I would have heard of it. I have never known any pups to be born in the water or on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska or in British Nashton, p. 298. Columbia. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land anywhere in British Columbia or Alaska. Smith Natch, p. 299. Nor have I known any seals to haul up on the land anywhere in British Columbia or Alaska. Dan. Nathlan, p 287. Have never seen any fur-seal haul up on the land anywhere in Alaska or British Columbia, or on Queen Charlotte Islands. Have never known any fur-seal to be hauled up on the coast of Alaska from Iey Bay to Wrangel. I have been Nechantake, p. 240. up and down between those places many times. * * * Have never seen any fur-seals in the sounds or inlets between this place and Wrangel at any time of year. Tn early days a few pups used to be driven into this bay in the winter by the storms on the coast. Thave never heard of or seen any seal hanled up on the coast of Alaska anywhere. Have never even seen any fur-seal in Jos. Neishkartk, p. 287. the waters around Annette Sound or in any of the inland waters. ' T have never known or heard of fur-seal hauling up on the land any- 2 There 7 Britis \ in a) ir ‘ Nukla-ah, p. 288. where in British Columbia, Queen Charlotte Islands, or Alaska. T have never seen any fur-seal anywhere in the inland waters, nor ave I ever hear “any being ar inl: Palen Oladn, a B28, hay ¢ I evel he ird of iy being round the inland waters of this part of Alaska. I have sealed all along the coast, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the passes leading into the Bering Sea, Osly, p. 390. and do not know of any place on the coast where seals haul out upon the land. T have sealed in that manner all the way along the coast from the Columbia River to the upper end of the Van- Wilson Parker, p. 392. couver Island and have never seen a place along there where the seals hauled out upon the land. a DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. 203 I know of no place on the coast where seals come up to land, and I am positive there is Ldwin P. Porter, p. 347. none. Sealing schooners do not regularly visit these islands. Last August (1881) three of them came in here to get water, but only stayed a few hours each; they had been Lliah Prokopief, p. 215. to the Commander Islands and were going south. I do not know of any fur-seal rookery or other places where fur-feals haul out on the land to breed or rest in the Aleu- tian Islands, nor where the old bull fur-seals ilaret Prokopief, p. 216. spend the winter. If any seal had hauled up on any of the islands in southeastern Alaska, I should have known it. They would certainly have been seen by some Indians, and Kesth Riley, p. 252. they would have reported it to all. Have never seen a fur-seal in Chatham Sound or any of the inlets off the sound in my life. Years ago a few seal pups were driven into the bays by the storms on the coast during the winter ondtus, p. 242. season. JT have never known or heard of any pups being born in the water or on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the Abel Ryan, p. 299, land anywhere around British Columbia or Alaska. I have traveled from Iey Bay to Nuchuk and back along the coast as far east as Lityu Bay, and have never seen any fur-seal in any inland waters wherever I have Schkatatm, p. 243, traveled. Have never known any fur-seal to come up on the land in Alaska or on any of the islands adjacent thereto, but have heard that they do haul out on the Pribilof Islands. Have never known or heard of any pups being born in the water or anywhere on the coast, nor have I ever known or heard of any fur-seals being hauled up on the land Schowoosch, p. 243. anywhere in Alaska. Once in awhile a few pups are driven into the bay by the hard gales blowing from the southeast on the coast during the month of December. I do not know of any place on the coast where William Short, p. 348. the seals haul out upon tlie Jand to breed. Have never seen a fur-seal in Chatham Straits, Stevens Passage, or anywhere else in my life, nor have I ever heard of any fur-seal hauling out on any of the islands or George Schuckeyah, p. 248. rocks on any part of the coast of Alaska. And had any ever hauled out I should have known it by being told by the people of the different tribes with whom I come in contact. 204 MIGRATION OF HERD. Have been down to Sitka, and on all islands and inlets around Chat- ham Sound, and have never seen any fur-seal in Schucklean, p. 253. my life, nor have I ever heard of any fur-seal being hauled up on any of the islands or rocks around Chatham Sound. Nor have I ever seen any man who said he ever saw a fur-seal pup in his life; have never seen an Indian be- longing to any tribe who said he ever saw or heard of a fur-seal haul- ing up on the land anywhere in southern Alaska. The Indians who come here to trade with me and our people come long distances, and had there been a fur-seal rookery in any part of Alaska, my people and myself would have known it. Have never known of seal hauling up on the land anywhere in Alaska, nor have I ever seen any fur-seal in the Jack Shucky,p. 289. inland waters between this place and Wrangel Island. Alexander Shyha, p. 226. The fur-seals usually appear off this part of the coast about the month of May, but they do not enter Cooks Inlet. In all my traveling around in the waters of southeastern Alaska, I have only seen one fur-seal in my life. I have Aaron Simson, p. 290. never seen or heard of pup seals being born in the water or anywhere in Alaska; nor have I ever seen or heard of fur-seals hauling up on the land in any part. of Alaska. Martin Singay, p. 268. Never knew of any fur-seals to haul up on the land along the coast of Alaska. Jack Sitka, p. 269. Never known fur-seals to haw] up on the land; have heard that they do haul up on the Pribilof Islands. Have heard that the fur-seal haul up on the Pribilof Islands, but never have seen, or have I ever heard of any fur-seal being hauled up on any part of the coast of Alaska, or rocks adjacent thereto. Never have seen any fur-seal in Disenchantment Bay, or anywhere else in the inlets of Alaska. Skeenong, p. 244. I have never seen a fur-seal in the waters of Cooks Inlet, and do not think any fur-seal rookery exists in this vicin- ity, as otherwise I believe I should have heard of it. Fredk. Skibby, p. 228. Thomas Skowl, p. 300, I have never known any fur-seal to haul out any- where on the coast of British Columbia or Alaska, wherever I have been. Have never seen any fur-seal born in the water or on the land any- where in British Columbia or Alaska; have Geo. Skultka, p 290. never seen or heard of any fur-seal rookeries in British Columbia or Alaska. DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. 205 Nor have I ever heard of any fur-seal hauling up on the land or rocks anywhere around Chatham Sound. The people who I sell oil to come from a long dis- Yuan Slanoch, p. 253. tance, and I have never heard them say that they had seen fur-seal hauled up on the land anywhere, and they would have told me and others of our people had they seen any. I have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska; nor have I ever known any fur-seal pups to be born in the water Stahkam, p. 245. or anywhere else in Alaska; nor have I ever heard any Indians with whom I have come in contact say that they had ever known any fur-seal pups to have been born in the water; nor had they known any fur-seal to haul up on the land in any part of Alaska. T never saw any seals on the land as we went Cyrus Stephens, p. 480. along the coast. Tam sure there is no place on the coast where John A. Swain p. 350. they haul out upon the land and give birth to their young. Have visited all the islands and inlets in Chatham Sound and other parts of southeastern Alaska; have never seen fur-seal in the inland waters; nor have I ever Tchet-Chak, p. 254. heard of any being there; nor have I heard of or seen any haul up on the land, any island, or rock on or off the coast of Alaska. In my business of making herring oil, which I dispose of to the people of the different tribes along the coast, I should have heard of seal being hauled up on any island or rock along the coast of Alaska, had there been any, for it is customary for the people of one tribe to tell the people of another all they know. I have never seen or heard of any fur-seal being seen in any of the inland waters of Alaska, nor have I ever known of or seen any fur-Seal hauled up on the land in Wm. G. Thomas, p. 291. any part of Alaska; have employed a great many Indian fishermen, and had there been a fur-seal rookery in any part of the Alaskan coast I should certainly have heard of it. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land around these bays or in any other part of Alaska. * * * Neither have I heard of any fur-seal hauling up Thunk, p. 245. on the land anywhere around this part of Alaska. Had there been any seal hauled up on the land it would have been told to me by people of different tribes with whom I have come in contact Iam acquainted with the coast from Sitka to Peter Titchenofy, p. 222. Kadiak. I donot know of any rookery along the coast, nor have I ever heard of any. Have never known fur-seal to haul up on the Charlie Tlaksatan, p. 270. land or on the coast anywhere in Alaska. I have never seen a fur-seal in any of the inland J. 0. Zolnan, p. 223, waters of Alaska, nor have I ever heard of any being in the inland waters. 206 ; MIGRATION OF HERD. I visit all the islands and inlets around Chatham Sound in following my occupation of making oil from the herring Toodays Charlie, p.249. Which I catch. Have never seen a fur-seal in the inland waters in my lite; nor did I ever hear of any being in the inland waters. * * * Had any fur-seal hauled up it would have become known to the Indians and I would have heard it; for I sell oil to all the tribes of Indians in southeastern Alaska, and they would have told me had they ever known or heard of there being a fur-seal rookery at any place along the coast. Have killed mostly pups in the fall of the year, driven in by the se- vere weather outside; never have seen any fur- Twongkwak, p. 246. . Seal haul up on the land nor have I ever heard of any seal hauling up on the land. John Tysum, p. 394. Seals do not haul out upon the land along the coast and give birth to their young. Have never known or heard of seal hauling up on the land on the coast of Alaska; have heard that they do haul up on the Jas. Unatajim, p. 272. Pribilof Islands. I have never seen any fur-seal hauled up on the rocks anywhere on the coast of this part of Alaska. I have never George Usher, p. 291, Seen any fur-seal anywhere around Annette Island. He has never seen or heard of seals inside Barclay Sound. They are all found outside. * * * He has never heard Francis Verbeke, p.311. Of seal breeding here and has never seen any seal. Witness states that he is the only white resident of village. Have never known any seal to haul up on the land or on the coast of Alaska. Have heard that they do haul up on Charlie Wank, p. 273. the Pribilof Islands. I annually visit nearly all the settlements in this region, and many of the uninhabited islands, and have never seen, M.L. Washburn, p.488, and in conversation with the various tribes of na- tives have never heard of fur-seals hauling on shore of the mainlands or the islands in this district, either for breed- ing or temporary resting place, since my residence in Alaska, and in only one case have [ heard of a young pup fur-seal being found in the waters of this district. .A single pup seal was found last year near Marnot Island by a hunter who had been for years engaged in hunting and this was the only case that had ever come to his knowledge. And I would say in this connection that all the sinall islands are visited dur- ing the summer by native hunting parties, and they informed me that they never had found any fur-seals on shore. Watkins, p. 395. I do not know of any place along the coast here the seals haul out upon the land and give birth to their young. nile 7 DOES NOT ENTER INLAND WATERS. 207 He states that fur-seal do not come in close to shore in this locality, and are never fonud on land. Seals are caught off the coast at from 5 to 20 miles. They do not PWeckenunesch, p. 311. breed in this locality and nothing of the kind is known in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. I have never known any fur-seal to haul up anywhere on the land on the coast of Alaska. I have never been in Bering Sea. P.S. Weittenhiller, p.274. Seals do not haul out on land at Barclay Sound Charley White, p. 396. nor along the coast. J have never known of any seals to haul up and breed between here and Unamack Pass. I have often followed them 7 very close in to the mainland and have killed *Méchael White, p. 490. them sleeping on the water. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on Billy Williams, p. 301. the land anywhere on the coast of Alaska or Brit- ish Columbia. Have never known or heard of any fur-seal Fred Wilson, p. 301. hauling up on the land anywhere on the coast of British Columbia or Alaska. There is a hair-seal rookery in the northern part of Cook’s Inlet, on Kalgin Island, about latitude 60° 30’ north. Ihave never known fur-seals to come up into Cook’s Inlet, above Anchor Point, and am positive that no fur-seal rookeries exists in the region; neither have Lever Jas. Wilson, p. 228. heard of fur-seal rookeries in the northern hemis- phere other than those on the seal islands of Bering Sea. Tam familiar with the bays and inlets along the coast, and I do not know of any place on the coast where the seals haul out upon the land and breed. * * * Iam familiar with the west coast of Vancouver Island, and have been in Bar- Wispoo, p. 396. clay Sound, Clayquot Sound, and talked with the Indians there, and none of us know of any place along the coast where seals haul out upon the land and breed, nor have I ever heard any Indian speak of such a place. Have never known of any fur-seal to haul out on the land on the coast of Alaska. Have heard of them hauling out on the Pribilof Islands, but have never been Michael Wooskoot, p.275. there. Have never seen or heard of fur-seals hauling yYahkah, p. 246. up on the land in any part of Alaska. I never heard of any fur-seal hauling up on the Billy Yeltachy, p. 302. land anywhere in British Columbia or Alaska. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on Hastings Yethnow, p. 303. the land in British Columbia or Alaska. 208 MIGRATION OF HERD. Nor have I ever heard of any fur-seal hauling up on the land any- where in Alaska. I have not seen a fur-seal within Alf. Yohansen, p.369. five miles of land along the Alaskan coast. I have never seen any fur-seal in the inland waters of this part of Alaska, nor have I ever heard of any being there Paul Young, p. 292. from the people of my tribe. Have never known any fur-seal to haul up on the land. Walter Young, p. 303. Never known any ftr-seals to haul up on the land in Alaska or British Columbia. IT have never known the seals to haul out upon Hish Yulla, p. 398. the land along this coast and give birth to their young. T never have seen or heard of a place along the Thos. Zolnoks, p. 398. coast where the seals haul out upon land. For many years it has been known that fur-seals breed at Guadalupe Island, where formerly large numbers were killed Dr. J. A, Allen, Theo. annually for their skins. Two thousand were Gill, and Dr. C. H. Mer- 529 ft F P riam, Vol. I, p. 586. secured as late as 1883, since which time small numbers have been taken nearly every year. In- asmuch as the Northern fur-seal (Callorhinus ursinus) is not known. to breed south of the Pribilof Islands, but occurs in winter off the coast of northern California and passes north in the spring, it seemed important to determine the species of fur-seal inhabiting Guadalupe Island. For this purpose an expedition was sent to said island by the direction of Dr. C. Hart Merriam in May, 1892, in charge of Mr. C. H. Townsend, an assistant of the United States Fish Commission. Seven fur-seals were seen near the island and one was shot by Mr. Townsend, but it sank before it could be recovered. The visit was made too early in the season to find the seals on the shore. A beach on Guadalupe Island was visited where it was known that a large number of fur-seals had been killed a few years previously and four skulls were there ob- tained. We have carefully examined these skulls and find them to belong to a species of Arctocephalus, a very different kind of fur-seal from that found in Bering Sea, the well-known Callorhinus ursinus, Sometimes during a heavy storm a few seals will be driven on shore for a short time, but will not stay but a few Wispoo, p. 396. hours. THE RUSSIAN HERD. Page 129 of The Case. In summer the two herds remain entirely distinet, separated by a Report of the American Water interval of several hundred miles; and in Commissioners, p. 323 of their winter migrations those from the Pribilof The Case. Islands follow the American coast in a southeast- erly direction, while those from the Commander and Kurile islands fol- low the Siberian and Japan coasts in a southwesterly direction, the two herds being separated in wiuter by a water interval of several thousand miles. THE RUSSIAN HERD. 209 The Pribilof herd does not mingle with the herd located on the Com- mander Islands. This know from the fact that the herd goes eastward after entering the Pacific Chas. Bryant, p. 4. Ocean, and from questioning natives and half- breeds who had resided in Kamchatka as employés of the Russian Fur Company, I learned that the Commander herd on leaving their islands go southwestward into the Okhotsk Sea and the waters to the southward of it and winter there. This fact was further verified by whalers who find them there in the early spring. In the latter part of September of 1867, in the brig Kentucky, mak- ing passage between Petropaulowski and Kadiak, I observed the Commander Islands seal herd on Chas. J. Haque, p. 207. its way from the rookeries. They moved in acom- pact mass or school, after the manner of herring, and were making a westerly course toward the Kurile Islands, ; 14B38 ot aA LN as MANAGEMENT OF THE SEAL ROOKERIES. THE SLAUGHTER OF 1868, Page 182 of The Case. I went [in the spring of 1868] for the late John Parrott, of San Fran- cisco, direct to the islands of St. Paul and St. George. We were the first parties who went to Geo. R. Adams, p. 157. those islands after the purchase, and commenced taking seals about the Ist of July. We and other parties took about 65,000 that year from St. George Island alone. We killed no females except by accident, for the reason that we thought at that time the skins of females were worthless. During my observation only one class of bachelor seals on the islands showed any deficiency in numbers, and I accounted for this fact in my report to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated September 5, 1872, from which I quote: “The weather, although excess- ively foggy and disagreeable to the residents of Chas. Bryant, p. 7. the islands, has been especially favorable to the young seals. It is also observable that a larger number of yearlings or last-year pups than usual have returned to the islands the present season. There is now only a deficiency of one class, that of the four or five year old seals. This is clearly traceable to the following causes: During the season of 1868 there were killed on both islands 220,000 animals for their skins, and in the season of 1869, 85,000 for their skins. At that time the relative value of the sizes or ages of the skins was not understood, and all the skins being paid for at the same price, the na- tives, who were quick to perceive e the difference between taking a small skin ‘and a large one and carrying i to the salt house, killed all the yearlings that they could; these were the products of 1867 and 186s, These were sent forward i in 1870 to nGhe and overstocked it with small skins. This created a demand for larger skins, and the Alaska Com- mercial Company instructed their agents to take all the large skins possible in 1871; this was done and as many 4 and 5 year old seals as could be taken. ‘This again fell on the already diminished product of 1867 and 1868. When these were sent to market they were fowid too old, and now the proper medium being ascertained the seals will be selected accordingly.” It should be borne in mind that the killing in 1868 was done by un- authorized persons before the Government “could arr ange for the pro- tection of the rookeries. As a result of the above experience I would further state the follow- ing facts: During my visit to St. George Island in 1868, before referred to, this vast Territory of Alaska had _ just fallen into the possession of the United States, and the 7. H. Dail, p. 23. Government had not yet fairly established more than the beginning of an organization for its management, as a whole, 211 ?12 AMERICAN MANAGEMENT. without mentioning such details as the Pribilof Islands. In conse- quence of this state of affairs private enterprise in the form of com- panies dealing in furs had established numerous sealing stations onthe islands during 1868. During my stay, except on a single occasion, the driving from the hauling grounds, the killing, and skinning was done by the natives in the same manner as when under 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 compe- tition among the various parties, all recognized the importance of pre- serving the industry and protecting the breeding grounds from moles- tation, and for the most part were guided by this conviction. T. F. Morgan, p. 63. My knowledge of the catch of 1868 enables me to state that the destruction of seals from all sources in that year was about 240,000. This is the maximum figure. Gustave Niebaum, ye 9208. The various parties took that year about 236, 000 seals, of which about 140,000 were killed under my direction. AMERICAN MANAGEMENT. THE LEASE OF 1870. Page 134 of The Case. No sealing was done at the Pribilof Islands during the seasons of 1869 and 1870 except for food for the natives, the Geo. R. Adams, p. 157. Government having declared these islands a reservation, and the lessees did not perfect the lease in time to commence operations that year (1870.) In the spring of 1869 I joined the United States revenue steamer Lineotn, and made the summer’s cruise in her of H, H. McIntyre, p. 47. about four mouths, touching at many points along the Alaska coast between Sitka and the most westerly island of the Aleutian Archipelago, visiting the Pribilof group twice during the season. The habits of the seals and manner of driving and killing them during Russian occupation of the islands, and in 1868, after the trans- fer of Alaska to the United States, were as carefully inquired into as the limited time and opportunity would admit, and reported to the Treasury Department under date of November 30, 1869 (House Ex. Doce. 36, Forty-first Congress, second session). This report, together with that of Special Agent Charles Bryant, formed the basis of subse- quent legislation providing for the leasing of the right to kill 100,000 seals annually for their skins. The report was, in the absence of more reliable information, largely based upon the a TR and opinions of the natives and tr aders, to whom the management of the sealeries was intrusted by the Russian Fur Company, and was afterwards found to be erroneous in many particulars. Uponthe main point, however, that of fixing 100,000 seals as the proper number to be killed annually, we have shown by the experience of many years to have been correct. THE LEASE OF 1870. 2138 To the intelligent inquirer as to the value of the system now in opera- tion for handling and disposing of the annual quota of skins from the seal islands, no doubt can ©, 4, Williams, p. 546. remain that it is the best, indeed the only one possible to pursue with success. The Government itself could not enter into business and follow details either with propriety or hope of profit. The right to take 100,000 seal skins annually from these islands, under certain stipulated restrictions, is leased by the Government of the United States to an associa- ©. 4, Williams, p. 543. tion of American citizens known as the Alaska Commercial Company. The company pays a rental of $55,000 per annum and $2.624 per skin, a total of $317,500 per annum, for this right. They are also obligated to a certain care of the Aleuts inhabit- ing the islands and to a partial provision for their needs, both mental and physical. CONDITION OF THE NATIVES. UNDER THE RUSSIAN COMPANY. Page 141 of The Case. The general methods employed under American rule were far superior to those of the Russians, as will be readily un- derstood from the following facts: When I first visited the seal islands in 1868 the natives were living in semisubterranean houses built of turf and such pieces of driftwood and whale bones as they were able to secure on the beach. Their food had been prior to that time insufficient in variety, and was comprised of seal meat and a few other articles, furnished in meager quantity by the Russian Fur Company. They had no fuel, and depended for heat upon the crowding together in their turf houses, sleeping in the dried erasses secured upon the islands. Foreed to live under these condi- tions they could not of course make progress towards civilization. There were no facilities for transporting the skins. They were carried on the backs of the natives, entailing great labor and hardship, and by reason of these tedious methods the taking of the annual catch was ex- tended over a number of months, being a continual source of molesta tion to the hauling seals. Very soon after the islands came into the possession of the American Government all this was changed. Their underground earthen lodges were replaced by warm, comfortable, wooden cottages for each family; fuel, food, and clothing were furnished them at prices 25 per cent above the wholesale price of San Francisco; churches were built and school houses maintained for their benefit, and everything done that would insure their constant advancement in the way of civilization and ma- terial progress. Instead of being mere creatures of the whims of their rulers they were placed upon an equal footing with white men, and re- ceived by law a stipulated sum for each skin taken. So that about $40,000 was annually divided among the inhabitants of the two islands. In place of the skin-clad natives living in turf lodges which I found on arriving on the island in 1869, I left them in 1877 as well fed, as well clothed, and as well housed as the people of some of our New England villages. They had school facilities, and on Sunday they went to serv- Charles Bryant, p. 8. ole CONDITION OF THE NATIVES. ice in their pretty Greek church with its tastefully arranged interior; they wore the clothing of civilized men and had polish on their boots. All these results are directly traceable to the seal fisheries and their improved management. UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL.—IMPROVEMENT. Pages 142 and 148 of The Case. During the six years I was on the islands the condition of the natives was wonderfully improved. When I came there Sam’l Falcouer, p. 162. they were partially dressed in skins, living in poate unwholesome turf huts, which were heated by fires with blubber as fuel; they were ignorant and extremely dirty. When I left they had exché nged theirskin garments for well made warm woolen clothes; they lived in substantial frame houses heated by coal stoves; they had become cleanly, and the children were attending school ‘eight months in the year. They were then as well off as well: to-do workingmen in the United St: ates, and received much larger wages. No man was compelled to work, but received pay through his chief for the work accomplished by him. A native could at any time leave the islands, but their easy life and love for their home detained them. When f first went there the women did a good share of manual labor, but when I came away all the hard work was done by the men. J do not reeall a single instance in history where there has been such a marked change for the better by any people in such a short time as there has been. in the Pribilof Islanders since the United States Goy- ernment took control of these islands. In the matter of the preservation of the fur-seals these inhabitants [of the Pribilof Islands] should receive some con- H. H. McIntyre, p. 599. sideration. Their ancestors were carried to the Pribilof group more than a century ago, and the majority of the present generation have been born and bred where they now live. They number at present about 350 people, who know no other home, and few of whom have ever seen any other land than the islands on which they live. They are a simple-minded, docile, good- natured people, far above the average aboriginal inhabitant of the country in intelligence, as indeed, might be expected of them in this generation, from the fact that the Aleutian blood in their veins is already very much mixed with that of a better quality from Russian and Aierican stock. Very few, ifany, thoroughbred Aleuts are to be found in Alaska at the present day. All are devout Christians and earnest believers in the faith of the Gree o-Russian Church, observing all its outward forms, and practicing, perhaps, as many of the virtues it ineul- cates as the average adherent of orthodox Christianity. Very little is known of these people under Russian régime in the early part of this century. If their traditions are to be relied upon they were hardly better off at this time than when in absolute barbar- ism. Their rulers were hard taskmasters and were themselves but meagerly supplied with such articles as would have materially helped the natives if they could have had them. They labored under the dis- advantage of living in a cold, barren, treeless country and having to depend for building material upon the driftwood fan upon their shores from the rivers emptying into Bering Sea. It was, therefore, UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL.—IMPROVEMENT. 25 impossible for them to make much progress, no matter what the teach- ing or the example set before them may have been while living, as they were, in their damp, filthy subterranean houses; and more impos- sible for them to live otherwise than underground until they were fur- nished with fuel and building material. These were never supplied by the Russians, and the Americans ac- cordingly found them, upon the cession of the territory to the United States, living in miserable, unhealthy hovels totally unfit for human habitation. The supports for the thatched roofs and turf sides of their houses consisted of the pieces of driftwood or the jaw bones of whales; light was admitted through the opaque medium of raw sea-lion skins, stretched and shaved; the chimney was a hole in the roof, over which a skin was drawn to retain the heat after the fire went out; their fuel consisted of water-soaked splinters of driftwood, upon which was burned the blubber of the seal or whale, emitting the nauseous odors of burning, rancid, ill-smelling animal fats. The smoke from the fire leftits greasy deposits upon everything about the premises and emitted a stench endurable only by a sense of smell long inured to it. For light in the long winter nights they had only asmall burning wick supported upon the surface of an open vessel of seal oil. Their food consisted almost wholly of seal meat, with rarely a meal of fish or fowl], often- times eaten raw in summer, and dried or partially dried and stored in the inflated stomachs of sea lions for winter. A small quantity of rye was furnished them, but their facilities for putting it in edible form were of the most primitive kind, and to this was added a limited quan- tity of tea and sugar, tobacco and rum. Their clothing was made of skins or of such coarse cotton or woolen cloths as were imported in very limited quantities for their use. The work which was exacted from the natives under Russian rule was much harder than has since been put upon them. The islands were provided with no teams of any description; the boats were rude affairs, built from pieces of driftwoed, whalebone, whale sinew, and sea- lion skins; the storehouses, workshops and tools were ill constructed and inconvenient; all of the skins of the thousands of seals slaughtered each year were transported on the shoulders of the laborers from the field to the warehouses, a great amount of labor expended on each skin in cleaning and drying it, and ail were again shouldered from the ware- houses to the boats to be lightered to the vessels. In all this work men, women, and children participated, and each received the small stipend of a few kopeks per day or per skin, barely sufficient to pay for the tea, sugar,-coarse clothing, and articles of domestic use supplied from the Company? s store. Yet even this poor subsistence was furnished directly or indirectly from the seals, excepting a few edible roots and wild vege- tables and an occasional fish or fowl at certain seasons.of the year. There is absolutely no other source of subsistence at the seal island. Since the occupation of the territory by the Americans such a change has taken place in the condition of the natives as occurs in the transi- tion from barbarism to civilization; and such a change as has brought about them those material evidences of civilization “which require ‘for their support and maintenance a constant and assured income. The villages as viewed from the exterior are indicative of their present plane of living and are such as may be seen in the prosperous mining and manufacturing sections of our country, comprising attractive churches, well-designed school- houses, commodious storehouses, and comfortable dwellings, all built in regular order and painted white. 216 CONDITION OF THE NATIVES. During the past twenty years the inhabitants have been constantly supphed with and become accustomed to the use of the same kind and quality of moral training, mental teaching, clothing, food, and medi- cines as are supplied to and habitually used by our ‘most prosperous rommunities. If they must surrender these things it means for them arelapse into barbarism; and the destruction of the seal fisheries en- forces the surrender. They have no other source of income and know no other business than that of seal-fishing. The income of the two seal-island communities, including only natives, has averaged, from 1868 to 1889, inclusive, more than $40,000 per annum in cash, and, in addition, they have been furnished evatuitously with the houses they occupy, nearly enough fuel to heat them, medicines and medical attend- ance, school- ‘houses, school books, and teachers. Their moral and mental inprovement have very nearly kept pace with the material comfort with which they have been surrounded. The children have learned to read, write, and speak English, and in general intelligence and household economy all have made remarkable progress. Is it true that people situated as these natives are acquire no vested right in the property whereon they have immemorially gained their liv elihood, which the Christian nations of the earth ought to respect? Ifit is true, then the precepts of Christianity bear still another and new interpretation. During my residence on the islands the native inhabitants were pros- perous and contented. The profits resulting from John M. Morton, p. 70. thelabor of killing theseals and salting and shipping the skins were not only ample to supply them with the needs of life, but with many ofits luxuries. Those who were care- ful and provident in the matter of their earnings were enabled to and did deposit some portion each year of the same with the Alaska Com- mercial Company or in the banks of San Francisco. The company furnished to each native family, without charge, a com- fortable frame dwelling, employed a physician on each island, and sup- plied medicines and medical attendance gratuitously. It may be said, perhaps, that it was plainly in the interest of the company to faithfully carry out all of its obligations designated or implied by the terms of its lease. Such was undoubtedly the fact, but, in justice to the lessees it should be stated that they always interpreted their contracts ina most liberal spirit, and in many ways exceeded their obligations as far as their treatment of the native people was concerned. They pay to these Aleuts 40 cents per skin or $40,000 per annum for their services in taking the skins. They have also built for them a church and school-house, ‘and maintain teachers and physicians on the islands. At the time of the cession of Alaska to the United States these people were living in huts, or more properly holes C. A. Williams, p. 543. In the ground, and had no ambitions or aspira- tions beyond supporting their daily existence in a painful and laborious way. Now they are living in frame houses pro- vided for them by the company, and have accumulated savings, in- vested in United States bonds in San Francisco, amounting on August 1, 1887, to $94,128.28, Itis safe to say that no laboring men within the boundaries of the United States are better paid or better cared for. “= THE SEALS. 21% THE SEALS. CONTROL AND DOMESTICATION, Page 147 of The Case. The work of herding and managing seals does not differ materially from that pursued with the stock-farm animals with which we are most familiar. The herdsman has chiefly to learn their quick motions and pro- pensity to bite in order to handle them at will. I tried to thoroughly train the young seals, hoping to make valuable pets of them, and succeeded as far as the taming went, but could not get them to thrive on cow’s milk or the condensed milk of commerce, administered from a nursing bottle. They became, however, very tame, stopped trying to bite unless they were made angry by rough usage, and followed me about like pups of the canine species. When they are older and before they leave the island in the fall they may still be handled with impunity, and their habits are such of massing and herd- ing by themselves apart from the older seals that all could be easily ‘rounded up” from the beaches in favorable weather, and “corralled ” and marked... It would be perfectly feasible to drive them into and keep them in such a corral or inclosure as would be constructed for valves or lambs, surrounded by a fence 3 or 4 feet high, and while there to catch each one and brand him. This has already been successfully done on a small scale by naturalists who wanted to identify certain ones for a future purpose. This is not mere theory with me, for I was bred to the management and handling of young domestic aninals, and have handled the young seals, and have seen them handled by the natives in the same way. W. C. Allis, p. 98. They grow very tame when reared near where people are passing and ‘repassing, and none of them are as wild or show as much fear as sheep ordinarily do when Jno. Armstrong, p. 2. approached by man. Robben Island is very small, being 1,960 feet long by 175 feet wide, and in places 46 feet high. Of necessity the quarters of the seal hunters and guards, as well Jno. G. Blair, p, 194. as the killing grounds, are very near the rook- eries, being not more than 75 feet distant from them, yet the seals ap- pear to take no alarm from the close proximity of the men, paying very little attention to persons passing and repassing a short distance from them. If none of them were killed, or if the killing were properly re- stricted to the males, I think they would i increase very rapidly and be as closely subject to contr ol as the cattle upon the great open pastures of the Rocky Mountain regions. There would be little trouble in catching all the young seals ‘and br anding or marking them. As proving that the seals return to the islands, I put a canvas col- lar upon a pup in 1880, and he came back to the same rookery in the following year still wearing the collar. If they are managed right they may be driven like sheep along the beaches. They do not run fast on shore, unless alarmed, when they give a man a good race to Wm. Brennan, p. 359. catch them. 218 THE SEALS. I was reared on a farm, and have been familiar from boyhood with the breeding of domestic animals, and particu- HN. Clark, p. 159. larly with the rearing and management of young animals; hence a comparison of the young seals with the young of our common domestic species is most natural. From my experience with both I am able to declare positiv ey that it is easier to manage and handle young seals than calves or lambs. Large numbers of the former are customarily driven up in the fall by the natives, to kill a certain number for food, and all could be “rounded up” as the prairie cattle are, if there was any need for doing so. ore ° In all respects great care was taken to prevent the unnecessary harassment of any class of seals, whether old or young, male or female. The breeding rookeries °H, G. Otis, p. 86. themselves were never under any circumstances disturbed. Although the seals are comparatively tame after being on the land for a short time, and do not get scared so easily as is commonly supposed, the rules and regula- J. ©. Redpath, p. 150. tions of the Treasury Department are very strict on the question of absolute protection to the seals on the islands, and the Treasury agents have always most rigidly enforced them. It is unlawful to fire a gun on the islands from the time the first seal appears in the spring until the last one leaves at the end of the season; and in order to properly enforce this law the firearms are taken from the natives and locked up in the Government house, in care of the Treasury agents. VAS 9 THE SEALS. No person is allowed to go near a rookery unless by special order of the Treasury agent; and when driving from the hauling grounds the natives are forbidden to smoke or make any unusual noise, or to do any- thing that might disturb or frighten the seals. The breeding rookeries are never disturbed in any way. The rule that “the use of firearms is forbidden between Thomas F. Ryan, p. 174. May Land December 1, except as permitted by the Government officer,” was enforced while I was on the island. No dogs are ever allowed upon the islands. Great care was always taken not to disturb the breeders; no one was ever allowed to go on the breeding grounds during. W. B. Taylor, p. 176. the rutting season, all observations as to the habits being made from overhangiig cliffs or some elevation in the vicinity of the harems. During this period it has been my duty as a trusted employé of the lessees to observe and report, each year, the con- Dani. Webster p. 180. dition of the rookeries. My instructions were ex- plicit and emphatic to never permit, under any circumstances, any practices to obtain that would result in injury to the herds. ‘These instructions have been faithfully carried out by myself and other eimployés of the lessees of the islands, and the laws and regu- lations governing the perpetuation of seal life have been rigidly enforced by all the Government agents in charge of the islands. The killing grounds are situated as near the rookeries and hauling grounds as is possible without having the breed- Danl. Webster, p. 183. ers or bachelors disturbed by the smell of blood or putrefaction, and most stringent regulations have always been enforced to prevent disturbing or frightening the breeding seals. NUMBER KILLED. Page 153 of The Case. (See also the tables under ‘‘ The Seal-skin Industry—Dependence on Alaskan Herd.” The number of bachelors permitted to be taken in ary one season is _ entirely within the control of the Treasury Depart- J. Stanley Brown, p. 16. ment, which control has been exercised. The seal being polygamous in habit, each male being able to pro- vide tor a harem averaging twenty or thirty mem- J. Stanley Brown, p.18. bers, and the proportion of male to female born being equal, there must inevitably be left a re- serve of young immature males the death of a certaii proportion of which could not in any way affect the annual supply coming from the breeding grounds. These conditions existing, the Gove: nmeut has per- mitted the taking with three exceptions up to 1890 of a quota of about 100,000 of these young male seals annually. When the abun- dance of seal life, asevidenced by the areas formerly occupied by seals, is considered | do not believe that this could account for or play any appreciable part in the diminution of the herd. * * * Vor some years past the natives were permitted to kill in the fall a few thousand male pups for food. Such killing has been prohibited, NUMBER KILLED 233 Tn 1889 it was quite difficult for the lessees to obtain their full quota of 100,000 skins; so difficult was it, in fact, that in order to turn off a sufficient number of four and Chas. A. Goff, p. 112. five year-old males from the hauling grounds for breeding purposes in the future, the lessees were compelled to take about 50,000 skins of seals of one or two years of age. I at once re- ported this fact. to the Seer etary of the Treasury + nd advised the tak- ing of a less number of skins the following year. Pursuant to such re- port the Government fixed upon the number to be taken as 60,000, and further ordered that all killingof seals upon the islands should stop after the 20th day of July. I was further ordered that I should notify the natives upon the Aleutian Islands that all killing of seals while coming from or going to the seal islands was prohibited. These rules and regulations went into effect in 1890, and pursuant thereto I posted notices for the natives at various points along the Aleutian chain, and saw that the orders in relation to the time of killing and number al- lowed to be killed were executed upon the islands. As a result of the enforcement of these regulations the lessees were unable to take more than 21,238 seals of the killable age of from one to five years during we season of 1890, so great had been the decrease of seal life in one e yea and it would have been impossible to obtain 60,000 skins even if thie time had been unrestricted. It is an indisputable fact, and known to the most ordinary breeder of domestic animals, that any surplus of males is a positive injury, and results in a progeny inferior Gustave Niebaum, p. 77. in size, quality, and numbers produced. The fierce strugeles of the surplus male seals to gain a foothold on the breeding grounds create great disorder and commotion, and often end in crushing the pups, and sometimes even in killing the mothers. This was so well understood by the sie that long befor e the cession of Alaska they ordered the slaughter, e are told by Veniaminof, of the superannuated males, in or der to ‘ear the way tor vigorous stock. During those years the sealing season commenced about June Ist to 4th and Clos sed invariably before the 20th of July, so that the disturbance to the herd was confined H. G. Otis, p. 86. to the shortest possible period of time and reduced to the minimum, The effect of this was of course most excellent. In addition to which fact the skins were always in prime condition during that period; whereas, later on, the ‘“stagey” season commences, when the skins are inferior and not marketable. The practice formerly prevailed of permitting the native people to killa very considerable number of four-months’ old pups for food, This was done about Novem- #, G, Otis, p. 87. ber in each year, the numbers so killed being 5,000 on St. Paul Island and 1,500 on St. George Island. After observation and study, I satisfied myself that the number of pup seals so killed might properly be diminished somewhat, although it could only be done against strong opposition on the part of the native people, who are specially partial to the meat of pup seals, claiming that for purposes ot salting and preservation for winter food the mes at of the older seals is unfit. I, however, restricted the killing of pups to 3,000 on St. Paul Island and 1,000 on St. George [sland, upon the ¢ ondition and agree- ment on the part of the Alaska Commercial Company, which “also 934 THE SEALS. favored the restriction, that it would supply to the native people, in lien of the pup-seal meat taken away, a sufficient quantity of corned beef and canned milk to satisfy the wants of the inhabitants. Defer- ence was always paid to the wants and the fixed tastes of the native people and their families in this matter of supplying young seal meat for their subsistence, for the reason that the entire seal industry at these islands has always depended in so large a measure upon the skill and labor of these people, who have invariably been employed to take the skins, and have no other occupation whatever. It has been said that man ean do nothing to facilitate the prepagation of the fur seal. My experience does not support J. C. Redpath, p. 152. this. The reservation of females and the killing of the surplus males, so that each bull can have a reasonable number of cows, is more advantage to the growth of the rookeries than when in a state of nature bulls killed each other in their efforts to secure a single cow. Prof. H. W. Elliott says, in his report of 1874, that: “With regard to the increase of seal life, | do not think it within the Leon Sloss, p. 92. power of human management to promote this end to the slightest appreciable degree beyond its present extent and condition in a state of nature.” If he means by the words “in a state of nature,” a condition in which no slaughter is allowed, T quite agree with him; but I do not agree that the increase can not be aided by killing surplus bulls. When herded in common pasture, the greatest number of progeny from our domestic animals will unquestionably be brought forth and live to adult age ifa large portion of the males have been killed or castrated, The same no doubt holds good with respect to seals. It is only when, as in the case of the seals, that the mothers and young offspring are slaughtered that the increase is checked. MANNER OF TAKING. Page 155 of The Case. (See also “ Driving,” ‘‘Overdriving and redriving,” ‘‘ Improvements over Russian methods of tak- ing,” and ‘t Killing.”’) The present system of taking seals on the islands in vogue and prac- ticed by the lessees under governmental super- John C. Cantwell, p. 408, Vision is, in my opinion, the best that ean be de- vised for building up and perpetuating this great industry. I became very familiar with the methods employed by the natives in taking the bachelor seals, which are the only ones H. A. Glidden, p.110. killed on the islands, and I do not believe any improvement could be made in the methods. Sealing on Robben Island, in the Russian group, was prohibited for a period of five years for the purpose of encour- John Malowansky, p. 198.aging the increase of the herd, but their propaga- tion was interrupted by the frequent attempts of poachers to raid the rookeries, and I believe that 4,000 or 5,000 seais were killed by the marauders while we were attemptirg to promote the growth of the herd. MANNER OF TAKING. 235 T have heard it said that the seals are slaughtered indiscriminately on the seal islands, and that the natives take no care of the seals. The contrary of this is true. anton Melovedoff, p. 142. Rules could hardly be made any more stringent than the rules laid down by the Government and company officers for the care and management of the seals, and no people could be more careful in obeying them in letter and spirit than what ours are. In 1871 I visited the islands and directed the policy and practice to be pursued under the lease. In this pursuit I of course became conversant with all the details of the business. Under the Russian régime upon the Commander Islands prior to 1868 the number of seals taken annually did not exceed about 5,000, the skins of which were dried for market. Gustave Niebaum, p. 202 (Commander Islands). The methods employed in taking the skinsare, Daniel Webster, p. 183. in my opinion, the best that can be adopted. DRIVING. Page 155 of The Case. I was also instructed to use the greatest care and caution in driving and killing the bachelor seals in or rder not to in- jure those 1 not wanted for their skins, but to drive George R. Adams, p. 157, them back from the killing grounds into the sea. The same care was exercised in cutting outthe Wy, C. Allis, p. 97. drove of “ bachelor” or killable seals from the bor- ders of a rookery and in bringing them up to the killing ground. Active young men were selected for ‘this service, and placed in charge ofa chief, whose orders they implicitly obeyed. The driving was done mostly in the night, and in dry or warm weather was a slow and tedious process; yet the men were very patient with their charge, moving them only at such rate as they could go without becoming overhe: ated, and taking advantage of every stretch of moist ground or pool of water to cool them off, and sometimes going themselves in the water up to their necks in order to give the animals a cold bath and take them out of the water and continue the journey. Any representation that the seals were overdriven or overheated, to their subsequent injury, is drawn from the imagination. Sometimes a drove would be caught upon a dry stretch of ground in unusually warm weather, and a few of them perish, but this did not often happen. The driving and killing of the bachelor seals was always carried on in the most careful manner, and during my stay upon the islands there was practically no injury Charles Bryant, p. 8. caused to seal life by overdriving, and after 1873, when horses and mules were introduced by the lessees to transport the skins, the seals were not driven as far, killing grounds being estab- lished near the hauling grounds, and the loss. by overdriving Was re- duced to the fraction of 1 percent. *- * * In all cases, at suitable intervals and before driving to the killing grounds, the herd was halted and the males of 5 years old or older were allowed to escape. 236 THE SEALS. All the drives are under the care of the chief, and my men never drive too fast. No drive on St. Paul Island longer than 2 miles. We never make more than two drives from the same rookery in one week. * * * No seals are injured by driving, for we drive very slow and only when the weather is cool. Once in awhile one may be smothreed and we skin it and count the skin along with the others. Karp Buterin, p. 104. In a “drive” the natives drive the seals from the hauling grounds a little way, separate the young killable males, and S. N. Buynitsky, p. 21. allow the remainder to return to the water or the hanling grounds. Then these young males so se- lected are driven to the killing grounds and there dispatched with clubs. During the entire time I was on the islands I never saw a single seal killed by overdriving. The driving of the male seais to the killing grounds was done very carefully. If the weather was warm or dry they H, N. Clark, p. 159. 7 paooe : ae , were allowed frequent opportunity to rest. Iam sure the driving did not hurt them in the least. Under the direction of Mr. Redpath on St. Paul, and Mr. Webster om St. George islands, men who have superin- W. C. Coulson, p. 414. tended this work for many yee ars, the natives do the driving, and the killing is performed under the supervision of the Government agents. The RaniVeR understand just how much fatigue can be endured by the seals, and the kind of weather suitable for driving and killing; no greater precaution in that regard can be taken, The evidence of this is in the small percentage of animals injured or overheated in these drives. I do not believe the animals are much frightened or disturbed by the process of selecting the drives from the rookeries, nor do I think it has a tendency to scare the animals away from the islands. I have often observed the driving and killing of the seal on the is- lands by the former lessees, the Alaska Commer- M. C. Erskine, p. 422. cial Company, and I know the company required the seals to be handled with great care, and that the instructions from the company were to that effect and rigidly en- forced. While I was on the island I became familiar with the methods of driving and handling the bachelor seals pursued Saml. Faleoner, p.161. by the natives, who were the only persons who ever drove, handled, or killed these seals. I am positive the methods can not be improved upon. * * * The greatest care was always taken not to overheat the seals in driv- ing them, and when a seal was by accident smothered the skin was re: moved and counted in the number allowed to be taken by the lessees, There were not, to the best of my recollection, twenty-five seals killed during any one season on St. George by overdriving. Whenever the sun came out while a “drive” was in progress the driving at once ceased, so great was the care taken not to overheat the seals. DRIVING. Bat T have driven seals from all the rookeries and under the directions of several chiefs, and I know the orders were always very strict about the care we must take of the John Fratis, p. 107. seals on the road. No drives were made in warm weather; the seals were not hurried, but every once in awhile they were allowed to stop and rest. The men who did the driving were relieved from time to time, so that no man should get too cold on the drive, and when the sun came out warm the drive was always aban- doned and the seals allowed to go into the sea. I never saw the seals overdriven or overheated, nor have I ever seen a seal die on the drive, except one or two occasionally smothered. The drivers carry their knives along, and when a seal dies they skin him and the skin is brought to the salt house and counted in with the others. An overheated seal would not be worth skinning, and for that reason the company agent is particular that the seals are not overheated. I have clubbed seals, too, and at present [ am a regular clubber. The driving from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds was always conducted with the greatest care; was done at night or very early in the morning, slowly #. A. Glidden, p. 110. and with frequent rests, so that the seals might not become overheated. During the killing the merchantable seals were always carefully selected. No females were killed, except, per- haps, one or two a season by accident, and the remainder of the herd were allowed to return to the water or hauling grounds. Very tew seals were killed in a “drive,” and the skins of these were, in nearly every case, retained and counted in the quota allowed to be taken by the lessees. The number of seals killed in this way could not possibly have affected seal life on the island. f never saw or heard of a case where a male seal was seriously injured by driving or redriving; and I do not believe that the virility of males driven was destroyed by climbing over the rocks or affected in any way by driving. Certainly the reproductive powers of male life on the islands were never de- creased or impaired by these methods. Another fact in this connection is that the lessees located the killing. grounds as near the hauling grounds as seemed to be prudent without disturbing the breeding of the rookeries; that boats and teams were provided for transporting the skins to the salt houses from the killing grounds, thus avoiding long “drives.” The methods employed in handling the drives are the same identi- cally as of twenty years ago. The same methods were observed when I first went to the islands, 1. 8. Hereford, p. 36. and were in vogue during the period that I re- ferred to as an actual increase in seal life, and have been continued up to the present times. There is nothing diiferent, except the enormous increase of vessels and hunters engaged in pelagic sealing in Bering Sea. The killable seals, after being separated from the remainder of the herd, are driven by the natives to the killing grounds. After every “drive” that took place Louis Kimmel, p. 173. while I was on the island 1 went back over the ground along which the seals had been driven to see if any seals had been killed by overdriving. The entire number of seals killed in all 238 THE SEALS. these “drives” did not exceed one hundred, and the majority of them were killed by the large seals crushing the smaller ones to death. In every case of a seal being killed on the “drive,” I, as Government agent, imposed a fine in order that they might be more careful in the future. And I remember when I was first rated a man, some twenty-three years ago; it was when Kerrick Buterin was chief, and he used to fol- low us up when we went to drive seals, and tell us to walk along as slow as we could, so as not to tire the seals or worry them in any way. When we used to kill 85,000 seals in two months we had to work hard, and we had to go out at night to drive, so that Jacob Kotchooten, p. 131. the seals should not be hurried, nor driven in the daytime when it was warm. In those days seals were driven from Halfway Point to the village, when the ground was wet, a distance of about 6 miles, and we used to start the drive at 6 o'clock at night, and get into the village between 6 and 7 o’clock next mommies, * * * The drives are always made by our own people, under the direction of the chiefs. Copper Island is some 30 miles long and from 1 to 3 miles wide. The rookeries lie on the easterly and the village C.F. Emil Krebs, p. 196. and killing grounds on the westerly side of the island. Between the rookeries and the killing grounds a continuous ridge, ranging from a few hundred to 2,000 feet in height, runs the whole length of the island. Over this ridge, at a point where it reaches about 600 or 700 feet in height, all the seals are driven, the journey requiring from five to twenty-tour hours, depending upon the weather. The practice of thus driving them has been pursued ever since the earliest history of the business. Many of the seals are repeatedly driven and redriven over this trail in a single summer, but I have never seen any injury to them from the exertion to which they are in this way subjected. The statement of an expert that.the virility of the seal is sapped and his powers of reproduction in any way weak- ened by such redriving is not borne out by the facts. On the contrary, the steady and rapid increase of the herd at Copper Isk md, already pointed out, again proves the old adage that in this matter, as in others, ‘theory is everywhere ¢ good except in practice.” The driving is all done by our own people under direction of the chiefs and we never drive faster than about half Nicoli Krukoff, p. 133. ® mile in one hour. We very seldom drive twice from one rookery in one week. * * * I never saw a seal killed by overdriving or by overheating; odd ones do die on the drives by smothering, but their skins are taken by the company and are counted in with the others. I have been told that there are persons who claim we are not careful in driving seals and that we kill them regardless Agget Kushen, p. 129. of sex. These statements are not true. I have taken my turn at driving seals from the hauling to the killing grounds every year since 1870, and I know the driving is very carefully done. When I first came here seals used to be driven from Halfway Point to the village, a distance of about 6 miles; and from Zapadnie to the village, a distance of nearly 5 miles. Wet. or very damp, cool weather was chosen for such diives, and we started the drive DRIVING. 239 at or about 6 o’clock at night and driving all night reached the village at from 6 to 8 o’clock next morning. Half a mile in one hour was about the rate of speed on such drives in favorable weather and I do not know ofany drives of over two miles where we ever went at a greater speed. * * * The seals are never driven at a greater speed than one mile in three hours; and the men who do the driving have to relieve each other on the road because they travel so slowly they get very cold. In a very large drive a small seal may be smothered, but that does not injure the skin, which is taken and salted and counted to the lessees ; and the greatest number I ever saw die on the drive was twenty out of a drive of about nine thousand seals, and the twenty skins were good and were accepted as * first-class.” 7 While I was on the islands I attended nearly every “drive” of the bachelor seals from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds, and these “drives” were con- Abial P. Loud, p. 38. ducted by the natives with greatcare, and no seals were killed by overdriving, plenty of time being always given them to rest and cool off. A few were smothered by the seals climbing over each other when wet, but the number was very inconsiderable, being a fraction of 1 per cent of those driven, and did not to any extent affect the seal life on the islands. The greatest care was always taken to avoid overdriving both by the Government officers and employés of the lessees. That during my experience I have watched carefully the driving of the bachelors from the hauling grounds to the kill- ing grounds; that there has never been any varia- #. H. McIntyre, p. 45. tion in the methods of driving; that the pre- vention of injury to the seals from driving was kept constantly in mind and the greatest care exercised that no such injury occurred; that the number of seals killed by overdriving or by smothering was very incon- siderable at all times, and that said seals so killed could not make any appreciable difference in the numberof seals who breed and haui upon the said islands; that up to 1882 there was no difficulty in procuring the required number of killable seals. The drove was frequently allowed to rest, and whenever practicable driven through some of the numerous ponds, or across marshes, to keep themcool. Generally the #, H. McIntyre, p. 49. less of life from the “drive” was very small, amounting, after the first two or three years, to only a fraction of 1 per cent of the number killed. And nearly all that perished on the road were skinned, and the pelts counted in our annuai quota. In describing the habits of the seals it has already been pointed out that the “bachelors,” or killable seals, haul out _ upon the land separate and apart from the breed. 4%: 4. MeLutyre,p. 64. ing rookeries, and it follows that they may be herded together and driven in from the beaches to the killing grounds without in the least disturbing the breeding seais. During the killing season, beginning the Ist of June, or as soon as the seals arrive thereafter, it is custom- ary for the superintendent to ascertain the day before a drive is to be made where the killable seals lie, and to instruct the chief in the eyen- ing in regard to the work for the following day. 240 THE SEALS. At daybreak, about 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning, the chief calls a sufficient number of men, usually from six to twelve, and leads them to the designated beach. They approach the hauling ground as noise- lessly as possible, keeping to the leaward of the seals until a point is reached whence the “run” is to be made, when, at the word, all move at the top of their speed along the edge of the surf and take intervals, like a skirmish line of soldiers, between the seals and the water, at the same time making such demonstrations by swinging the arms, flourishing caps and coats, or beating bones or sticks together as to alarm the “animals ¢ nd cause them torush inland. The droy eis quickly collected and brought together in one mass. When it has moved a short distance from the water it becomes perfectly manageable and is then divided into detachments of 500 to 1,000 seais; ach detachment is ‘placed by the chief in charge of a trusty man, who, aided by two assistants, one on each flank and himself in the rear, brings his drove along toward the killing grounds ata speed varying from a few rods to a mile an hour, in accordance as the weather may be hot and dry or moist and cool, If the chief is efiicient and properly instructed, the seals are at the killing ground by 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning, and are given an hour or two to rest and cool before the gang turns out after break- fast for the day’s work. The longest drive made during recent years is that from English Bay to the vill: ie on St. Paul island, about 24 miles. * * * In driving, advantage is taken of every snowbank, small lake, or stretch of marshy ground to rest and cool the drove; and if very hot and dry or the sun breaks out, it is kept in a cocl place until the con- ditions change. Sometimes the practice of driving the seals in the afternoon and evening of the day before they are to be killed has been followed. In this case one herdsman through the night is sufficient to prevent their escaping. The fur-seals do not travel on the Jand with that ease of locomotion characteristic of purely land animals, but on the other hand, they move with great freedom compared with other species of seals. Their enforced action on the drive is, as a rule, but little more violent than they voluntarily take upon the rookeries when moving up and down the slopes and playing with each other. There are generally in each diive a few bulls, full grown or nearly so, too large for killing, and occasionally a dwarf or sickly seal and rarely a female, all of which are segregated from the mass as soon as possible and left behind to find their way back to the ee Much depends in driving upon the good judgment of the man in charge as to when and how long they should be allowed to rest, and in keeping the herd spread out so as to prevent the aniwals from huddling together and crowding. With proper management, the loss from driving is but a fraction of L per cent, and nearly all are skinned and the skins counted as a part of the annual quota. The animals that are found unfit for killing and are allowed to return to the water to be repeatedly driven later in the sea- son, suffer, in my opinion, no injury. I have seen it stated by theorists with little or no practical experience, that the exertions to which the seals are subjected on the drives is unusual and excessive; and they infer that it must injure the animal’s reproductive usefulness. With n0re extended observation and experience they would discover that such is not the case. The best practicalillustration of this fact is found on Copper Island of the Commander group where, for the past twenty years or more, it has been customary to drive ne: ily all the seals over @ very rough mountain trail across the isiaud, and to practice the same. DRIVING. 240 methods in the killing that we have pursued at the Pribilof Islands, with the result of constantly and healthfully increasing the herd. That seals are cecasionally injured or lost by improper handling is no sufficient reason for abandoning a system of management which proves satisfactory when properly administered. These theorists apparently find it very easy to criticise the management of the seals without sug- gesting any way in which to improve it. The erection of “salt houses” at suitable places for curing the seal skins was one of the earliest works undertaken, and several weve erected at points convenient to #. IV. McIntyre, p. 187. the largest “lauling grounds.” In addition to this teams were furnished and skins hauled to the salting places or, in other instances, they were taken by boats, as most convenient. In this manner the necessity for long drives was obviated and the work made easier in all respects. The polygamous habit before mentioned naturally results in forcing the young male seals to “haul” from the sea by themselves, which renders their capture less difficult, as they may be driven without dis- turbing the breeding seals with their young. Seals to be killed were usually, and as a rule, driven at night or very early in the morning when the grass or eround was moist with dew or during the prevalence of fog, and was le sisurely performed under direction of experienced hunters, hence the animals were spared the fatigue of traveling on dry ground at unwonted speed. When not be ng driven their movements on land are in nowise un- certain or distressing, and they are frequently seen journeying of their own volition from one “rookery” or “hauling place” to another at considerable distance, especi: lly when singly or in small groups; they catch on a strong wind the scent of a herd at a remote point and set out to join it. In connection with the work of driving the seals at fre- quent intervals it was of special interest to observe that they became less wild or timid, and consequently could be managed more easily in herd. The driving grounds on Copper Island are very rough and hilly and much more difficult to drive over than those on the Pribilof Islands. The drives are always Jno. Malowansky, p. 199 carefully made, slow, with a chance torest, and (Commander Islands.) foggy days are selected. I have never been able to discover any injury to the herds from these drives, nor do I believe there is any. The killable seals herd by themselves, and until recently we did not drive from all the hauling grounds, but this we have had to do in the last three or four years, because the seals were getting scarce as the result of hunting them at sea No one ever said in “those days [before 1868] that seals were made impotent by driving, although long drives had been made tor at least fifty years. * * * anion Melovedoy, p TAS. When [ first went on a drive IT remember how the chiefs talked to me about being careful of how [ went on the haul- ing grounds; how I must not disturb the breeding 4. Melovedoff, p. 142. rookeries, and that I must walk as slow as I could when driving, and stop and let the seals rest occasionally. 1 believe the same instructions were given at all times by the chiefs 2 dae people, and I think they have ‘been generally very faithfully obeyec 16BS 242 THE SEALS. I know that as long as I can remember the driving of seals has been the most carefully done work on the island, and S. Melovidov, p. 145. all the drives have been done by our own people, under the immediate orders of the native chiefs. The aim at all times of all concerned has been to care for and guard the seals, and to do everything possible to preserve and perpetuate seal life. We were always instr ructed by the chiefs to drive slowly, and to let the seals stop and rest occasionally, and if a cow happened to join the drive, we had to allow her to drop out and return unmolested to the water. It has been the policy and practice of the lessees to do everything that could be done to shorten the length of the drives whenever it could be done without injuring or disturbing the breeding rookeries, and to this end salt houses have been built, teams and wagons or boats used so as to reduce the longest drive on St. Paul Island to not to ex- ceed 2 miles. Never since 1879 has a seal been driven on this island to exceed that distance. In like manner rules have been made and rigidly enforced that no hauling grounds shall be driven from oftener than twice in any one week, and it is arare thing to drive more than once a week from the same place. Tas There is no foundation in fact for the stories Simeon Melovidov, p. 146. : sos : told of overdriving of seals. The North rookery of Bering Island is in every way rougher than any I observed on the Pribilof Islands. I saw two of N. B. Miller, p. 200. the drives from the North rookery. One of the routes leads over the rough rookery, through the shallow lagoon, and up the bluff at a place where the angle is about 35° to the grassy plain in front of the temporary dwellings of the natives. a distance in all of about a quarter of a mile; the other leads up the bluff from the sand beach at the western arm of the rookery, out be- yond and back of the settlement, over a comparatively level but marshy and broken country, to a dist unee of from 14 to 2 miles. I consider these drives harder and rougher than those of the Pribilof Islands. The killing ground at the terminus of the shorter drive is small and did not appear to be used to any extent. On June 4th, 1892, I landed on and photographed Polatka rookery, on the western coast of Copper Island, This issomewhat similar to the North rookery of Bering Island, but is very much narrower, and instead of being composed of loose rock heaps is largely of great tilted masses of stratified volcanic rock with very sharp and jagged edges. Itis less than a mile long and at the widest part, including the outlying rocks, not more than 300 yards in width, measuring right up to the base of the bluffs. It lies at the foot of abr upt cliffs trom 600 to 800 feet in height along its whole length, with the exception of one point. This is about the center of the rookery, where there is asmall hill of hard-packed sandy soil about 60 feet high, back from which a very steep ascending ravine leads to the summit of the ridge, an elevation of about 700 feet. The drive from Polatka rookery leads up over this sand hill and through the ravine; over the ridge. I was informed, the rest of the 2 miles is on a descending grade to the other side of the island, where the killing ground is located. The rocks of this rookery also did not have the appearance of being flipper-worn. There were no signs of vegetation on the entire rookery, and no soil apparently, except on the Sandy hill at the mouth of the ravine. I estimated about 250 fur seals DRIVING. 243 on Polatka rookery, about 30 of them bachelors. I saw no cows, and think they had not yet arrived, as 40 codfish were landed on the decks of the Albatross, where she lay within 500 yards from the shore, in an hour. I think if feeding cows had been about the rookery, the fish would not have been found so close to it. From an elevated position on Polatka, [ obtained a good view of the rookery next above it, called Pestchanni. The character of this is similar to Polatka, but has a sand beach adjacent to it where the bachelors doubtless mostly herd. The drive from here, as I was shown it, leads up a shallow stream a short distance, and then over the mountain side to the ridge, a height of fully 800 feet, from whence it continues down to the opposite side of the island. Both of these drives on Copper Island are exceedingly hard and rough; i know of none on the Pribilof Islands to compare with them. The slaughter of animals for their skins was always conducted care- fully and systematically, and in accordance with wise regulations looking to the proper protection Jno. ML. Morton, p. 68. and conservation of the seal life. The killing of females was prohibited, and, fortunately, a strict adherence to the law in this respect was entirely practicable by reason of the fact that the “bachelors” or killable seals occupy positions on the islands separate and apart from the breeding animals, so that the latter were never dis- turbed in the drove. There were often driven to the killing grounds at the same time as many as two or three thousand seals, from which were selected without difficulty such animals as were suitable for slaughter, while all others were allowed to return to the water. * * * * *& * In the matter of driving, great care was exercised to prevent over- heating and exhaustion on the road, and the loss of animals in this re- spect was very slight. I may state here that I have never seen any evidence that the seals derived any material injury from their ov erland trip to the killing grounds. It has, I believe, been claimed by some one writing on the “subject, that the large se 118 which have been thus driven, and subsequently in the culling-out process dismissed from the herd and permitted to return to the water, suffer a loss of virility or the power of procreation by their journey. Such statement seems to me to be puerile and altogether unworthy of serious consideration. As I have said, the driving was done carefully, and without undue haste, and while an animal might occasionally succumb to the heat of an un- usually warm day, as a rule the physical exertion called for on the part of the seals on these enforced journeys was not greater than they customarily put forth in their voluntary ramblings over the dunes and rocks of the islands. Indeed, the mortality among the seal life from whatsoever cause, outside of that incident to the killing of the animals for their skins, was always surprisingly small, and could not have affected the rookeries in any appreciable manner. While on the islands I observed with great care the manner of driv- pe and handling the young male se: ls allowed by law to be killed for their skins, and [am con- J. H. Moulton, p. 72. vinced the methods now in use on the islands can not be improved upon, and especially because all the driving is done by the natives, who from generation to generation have made this their only business, being trained up to it trom boyhood, Every pre- 244 THE SEALS. caution is taken in driving not to overheat or weary the seais, fre- quent rests being had, and a “drive” never being undertaken when the sun was shining; if the sun came out unexpectedly during a “drive,” the animals were at once allowed to return to the water. Very few seals die during a “ drive,” amounting to a very small frae- rion of 1 per cent of those driven, and in nine cases out of ten of those accidentally killed in this way the skins are saved. I never saw or heard of a seal being injured seriously by driving or redriving. I have seen the hind flippers in a few instances a little sore, but never in all my experience have I seen an old sore on a seal. Iam positive the re- productive organs of every one of the hundreds of thousands of sea IsL have seen driven were uninjured by their movements on land, and Lam further convinced this must be so from the fact that a seal when mov- ing on land raises himself slightly on the hind flippers, so that his re- productive organs are clear of the ground. Even if a seal was driven twelve successive days for the average distance between a hauling ground and a killing ground, I do not believe its virility would be at all impaired. he result of my observations of the methods of driving the seals from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds S. R. Nettleton, p. 76. 18 that a very small fraction of 1 per cent of the seals die from being overdriven or from being overheated in driving. When necessary to make a drive for skins from any given rookery the localagent of the lessees informs the Treasury L. A. Noyes, p. 82. agent, and obtains his permission to make the “drive.” Noseals are driven withoutthe consent of the Treasury agent in charge of the island. All being ready, the native chief takes a squad of men to the hauling ground, where the seals are quietly surrounded without disturbing the breeding rookery, and they are then driven slowly along to the killing ground. Since the improved methods of 1879 there is no drives of greater length than 24 miles, and the majority of them do not exceed 1 mile. So carefully and so slowly are the drives made, the men driving are relieved every hour, because of the slow motion they get chilled on the road. Orders wereissued by which the driving is regulated in sueh manner that no hauling grounds are molested or dis- L, A, Noyes, p. 83. turbed more than another, and, being taken in rotation, the seals are allowed several days rest between drives. The rules for driving are so strict, so rigidly enforced, and so faithfully carried out, that I hardly know how they could be mnproved upon. There was indeed no oceasion to disturb them [the breeding rook- eries| because the killable seals, or “ bachelors,” H. G. Otis, p. 86. from 3 to 5 years old, were so numerous that the whole catch could be taken from this class with the ease and facility which I have already described. Besides, under the operation of the natural laws governing the spe- cies in their habitat, the classes are distinctly separated on land, the bulls, cows, and pups occupying the breeding rookeries proper, while e DRIVING. 245 what are known as the “bachelors,” to wit, those young males which have not arrived at the dignity of being the heads of harems, haul out of the sea and gather upon the shores separate and apart from the breeding rookeries, so that the driving for killing purposes could then be readily done without interfering with the breeding rookeries. Thus a wise deference on the part of man to the habits of this systematic race of animals can be turned to valuable account and nature be made to reinforce commerce in her work. The young males, from 2 to 5 years old, whose skins are taken by the lessees, begin to haul out on land in May and they continue to haulout till July. Theyherd by 7. C. Redpath, p. 149. themselves during the months of May, June, and July, and they do this because, during the breeding season, they dare not approach the breeding rookeries or the bulls would destroy them. Being thus debarred from a position on the breeding rookeries or from intermingling ¢ with the cows, they herd together on the hauling grounds, where they are sasily approached and surrounded by the natives, who drive them to the killing grounds without disturbing the breeding rookeries. * * * The regular killing season for skins under the lease begins on June Ist and ends practically on the last of July; and during this period the first-class Alaskan fur-seal skins are taken. The seals are driven from the hauling to the killing grounds by experienced natives under the orders of the native chief, and the constant aim and object of all con- cerned is to exercise the greatest care in driving, so that the animals may not be injured or abused in any manner. As the regulations require the lessees to pay for every skin taken from seals killed by the orders of their local agents, and as the skin of an overheated seal is valueless, it is only reasonable to suppose that they would be the last men living to encourage or allow their employés to overdrive or in any inanner injure the seals. I know that the orders given to meas local agent were always of the most positive and emphatic kind on this point, and they were alw ays obeyed to the letter. Instead of overdriving or neglecting the seals the lessees have endeavored to do everything in their power to shorten the distances between the haul- ing and killing grounds, or between the hauling grounds and the salt house. All driving is done when the weather is cool and moist, and when the condition of the weather demands it, the drives are nade in the cool of the night; and in no case — J, C. Redpath, p. 150. are seals driven at a higher rate of speed than about half a mile an hour. So carefully is the driving done that it has been found necessary to divide the native drivers into several “ watches,” which relieve each other on the road, because, the pace being so slow, the men get cold. I am further satisfied after my two years’ experience that the driv- ing of male seals to the killing grounds by the natives could be of no possible injury to seal life 7. 7, Ryan, p. 175. on the islands. While on St. George Island I Aedes nearly every killing of the bachelor seals (which are the ones taken for their skins) and also many drives. I very frequently B. 7, Scribner, p. 89. went over the ground where a drive had been 946 THE SEALS. made, after such had taken place. I became familiar with the manner of driving, handling, and killing the seals by the natives, and I econ- sider the methods empioyed by them to be practically perfect, and no im- provement can be made on such methods. The greatest care is always taken not to heat the seals in driving them, and in case the sun came out during a drive the seals were allowed to return to the sea. The work of taking the annual “catch” was done in 1883, 1884, and 1585 under ny management in the same way in Leon Sloss, p. 91. every particular as under my predecessor. The seals were carefully driven, handled, and killed m an orderly manner, the whole work being ¢: wried on as systimatically and quietly as in the well-conducted slaughterhouses i in our cities. The talk about lasting injury resulting from overexertion to such seals as are turned back to the water after havi ing been driven to the killing grounds is nonsense. I made a very particular examination and study of the methods em- ployed by the natives in driving and killing the W. B. Taylor, p. 176. young males, or bachelors, and in my opinion these methods are the very best that could be adopted, and I can conceive of no other way which could be employed and pre- serve seal life so effectually. In starting a drive the bachelors are driven from the hauling grounds, which are separated trom the breeding grounds. * * * The clubbers are each armed with a turned hic kory club, 5 feet 2 inches long, of best, straight-grained wood, like an ex ageerated base- ball club, and a sharp pointed hook, similar to a stevedore’s cargo hook, which he carries in his belt or boot leg. The stabbers and flip- perers have double-edged knives 6 or 7 inches long, and the skinners ten or twelve inch single-edged blades; and each man a small, fine- grained oil stone, of which he makes very frequent use, finishing the sharpening process on his own palm or the seal’s flipper, ‘for the edges must be as keen as razors to effectually do the work. If the drove contains more than a few hundred se als, a portion of it is cut off and brought to within about 75 or 100 feet of the place where the first “pod” is to be killed. The drivers step quic kly along the flanks of the drove at several feet distant from it, and approach e ach other from opposite sides at a point to detach 50 or 60 animals. These are driven directly to the clubbers who have been previously instructed by the assistant superintendent what class of seals they are to kill and where they are to begin operations. At the word from the chief the blows fall in quick succession, a single blow upon the head of each seal designated being always sufficient to completely stun him, and usually to fracture his skull. Those remaining are carefully looked over by the assistant superintendent, such of “the doubtful ones killed as he may direct, and the remaining ones driven to one side and allowed to return to the water at will; or, after a few hours, if any remain about the field, a boy is sent to head them toward the sea. The clubber’s Sharp hooks are now stuck into the noses or flippers of the fallen se als and they are dragged apart and laid singly as closely together as con- venient for the skinners. This is very necessary, because, if left in a heap as they are slain, the heat at points of contact quickly loosens the 256 THE SEALS. fur and spoils the skin. The drivers now “run” to bring up the next ‘“nod,” the stabber thrusts his knife to the heart of the stunned animals and the flippers follow as soon as the seals are dead, to cut the skin around the head just in front of the ears, around the posterior extrem- ity between the body and hind flippers, around the two fore flippers and down the median line of the belly. Next he is taken in hand by the skinner, who quickly flays him with dexterous strokes of his long, keen-edged knife, leaving a considerable layer of blubber upon the skin to prevent its hardening and drying in the salting process. When it is desired to save the blubber as well as the skin, both are removed from the carcass together and flayed apart with skillful strokes of the knife. The seal-killing is done in a very orderly, systematic manner, and the attendant waste is surprisingly small when done with skilled labor. Rarely an undesirable seal is hit by a clubber, and occasionally the sun will shine out unexpectedly and so heat the skins before they can be removed, as to loosen the fur and cause it to pull out, but the entire loss under judicious management amounts to only a few score of skins in a hundred thousand. An experienced force of 2 22 men can easily sl: vwughter and properly cure the skins of an average of 1,000 seals per day through the season. When the skin has been removed from the carcass it is thrown, flesh side down, upon the damp ground, and as soon thereafter as convenient hauled to the salt house, where each one is examined and counted, in the presence of the native chief, by the Treasury agent and the assist- ant superintendent, in order to determine when the number allowed by law has been taken and to form the basis for payment to the natives tor their work. Arrived at the killing grounds, the seals are driven out from the main body in * pods” of twenty or thirty at a time, and L. A. Noyes, p. 82. experienced men club and kill the desirable ones, and allow all that remain to return at their leisure to the adjacent waters. The most experienced men do the skinning, and after,them come the women and children who carry off the carcasses for food, and the fat or blubber for winter fuel. In aceordance with instructions from the Department, the Treasury agent is always present at the killings, and he has full power and au- thority to interfere in all cases where there is cruelty practiced or attempted. All seals killed by the lessees for skins are killed between June 1, and July 30, and generally the season closes on the 20th of July. SALTING AND KENCHING. Page 163 of The Case. In the early days of the sealing industry it was always customary to dry the skins for market by stretching them upon H. H. McIntyre, p. 57. the ground by meansof wooden pins driven through their edges or by the use of stakes and twine. But this process made the skin difficult to unhair in dressing, and, moreover, in the very damp climate of Alaska, it was often impossible to dry the skins thoroughly enough to prevent their decaying en route to market. Large numbers of skins were lost, [ am informed, in this way, even after artifie ‘ial heat was resorted to for drying them, and it was found most profitable to salt them and ship them in salt to market. SALTING AND KENCHING. 257 The salting is done in rows of bins called “kenches.” Each skin is thrown to the man in the kench, who quickly spreads it, flesh side up, and a third shovels salt enough upon it to completely cover its surface. The next skin is spread in the same way above the first, and so on with alternate layers of skins and salt until the kench is full. Here they lie from five to seven days and are then shaken out, any curled edges are unrolled and salted, and the skins are folded with a small quantity of salt between the folds, and again piled to complete the curing process. i —_ ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 279 every year thereafter until I left in 1887, there was a marked decrease in the number of marketable skins that could be obtained in each year during the sealing season. We were able, down to the last year (1887) to get our total catch of 100,000 seals, but in order to get that number we had to take what in previous years we would have rejected, namely, undersized skins, 7. e., the skins of young seals. Prior to 1887 we had endeavored to take no skins weighing less than 8 pounds, but in order to make up our quotain thelast-mentioned year we had to take skins weighing as little as 64 pounds to the number of several thousand. In the years 1885, 1886, and 1887 my attention was attracted not only to a diminution in the number of killable seals appearing on the island, butto adecreasein 7, F, Morgan, p. 64. the females as well. Up to the year 1884 the breeding space in the rookeries had increased, and from that year down to 1887, when I left the island, the acreage covered by the rook- eries which were occupied by seals constantly diminished. That my attention was called to the decrease of seals and the deple- tion of the rookeries at an early date after my arrival, and that I attempted to study the habits Joseph Murray, p. 73. and conditions and to note thenumbers of seal on the several rookeries and hauling grounds, and that the natives and employés of the Alaska Commercial Company were unanimous in their opinions that the seal had been decreasing steadily and rapidly since 1884, and I reported the fact to Agent Goff, who had found similar cone ditions existing on St. Paul, and he so reported to the Department and suggested that not more than 60,000 seals should be taken in any one season in future. In pursuance of instructions from Agent Goff I left St. George Isl- and on the 19th of July, 1890, and landed on St. Paul Island on the 20th of the same month, and remained there until August, 1891. Dur- ing the month of July, 1890, I walked over the rookeries and hauling grounds of St. Paul Island and Agent Goff pointed out to me the lines to which in former years the seals hauled and the large areas which they covered; and then he called my attention to the small strip cov- ered by seals on that date, which was smaller than the year previous. Agent Goff stopped the killing of seals by the lesses on and after the 20th of July, 1890, because of the depleted condition of the haul- ing grounds; and I fully concurred in his order and action. I spent the sealing season of 1891 on St. Paul Island, and pursuant to instrue- tions of Agent Williams, I gave my time and special attention to the study of the condition of the rookeries, both the breeding and grounds. I visited the rookeries daily from the 7th to the 22d of July—during the period when the rookeries are fullest and at their best—and I eare- fully noted their condition and the number of seals; the number of cows to the family, and the number of es vigorous "pulls upon each rookery. Upon my first visit to the rookeries and hauling grounds of the island of St. Paul, my attention was attracted to the evi- dences of recent and remote occupancy by the _ §. R. Nettleton, p. 75. seals. Marked differences were noticeable in the appearance of vegetation on large areas formerly occupied as breeding and hauling erounds, while near the water’s edge, more recently occu- pied, the ground was entirely bare of vegetation, enabling one to trace 280 EVIDENCE OF DECREASE the gradual decrease of areas occupied during the last ha to eight years. My examination of the rookeries on St. Paul and $ George during the years 189091 and 1892 enabled me to trace the ae decreasing area occupied by the fur-seals on these islands. Aside from the evi- dences of deserted rookeries and hauling grounds shown by the grounds themselves, Iwas shown by native inhabitants of each island the grounds occupied in ‘former years now deserted and grass-grown. The silent wit- ness of the deserted rookeries bears out the testimony of the resident agents of the lessees of the islands, and of the native inhabitants of the islands , that the number of seals on the islands began to decrease with the advent of pelagic sealing, and that the yearly decrease has been in proportion with the yearly increase in the number of vessels engaged in that enterprise. The decrease in the number of seals coming to the islands in last three or four years became so manifest to everyone ac- L. A. Noyes, p. 83. quainted with the rookeries in earlier days that various theories have been advanced in an attempt to account for the cause of this sudden change, and the following are some of them: Ist, “A dearth of bulls upon the breeding rookeries;” 2d, ‘‘Impotency of bulls, caused by overdriving while they were young bachelors ;” and 3d, “AN epidemic among the seals.” Q. Have you noted any perceptible difference in the number of seals on the rookeries from one year toanother? If so, J.C. Redpath, p. 140. What changes have you observed?—A. Within the last four five years I have observed a decided decrease in the number of seals on the rookeries. Q. In what proportion have the seals decreased within the time men- tioned?—A. As far as my judgment goes, I should say at least one- half. As the schooners increased the seals decreased, and the lines of con- traction on the rookeries were noticed to draw J.C. Redpath, p.151. nearer and nearer to the beaeh, and the killable seals became fewer in numbers, and harder to find. In 1886 the decrease was so plain that the natives and all the agents on the islands saw it and were startled; and theories of all sorts were advanced in an attempt to account for a cause. I had no difficulty in getting the size and weight of skins as ordered, nor had my predecessors in the office, up to and Leon Sloss, p. 91. including 1884, The casks in which we packed them for shipment were made by the same man for many years, and were always of uniform size. In 1885 these casks averaged about 474 skins each, and in 1886 they averaged about 504 skins each, as shown by the records in our offic ¢, After this date the number increased, and in 1888 they averaged about 552 skins per cask, and in 1889 averaged about 60 skins per cask. These latter were not such skins as we wanted, but the superintendent on the islands re- ported that they were the best he could get. The number of seals on the Pribilof Islands is Z. L. Tanner, p. 375. decreasing. Isaw positive proof of this on St. Paul Island last season. ON PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 281 Lhad an excellent opportunity to observe some of the seal rookeries during my first visit to the islands, and spent much time i in studying the habits of the seals, both — Francis Tuttle, p. 487. on the rookeries and in the adjacent waters, I was particularly impressed with the great numbers to be seen both on land and in the water. During the stuunmer of 1889 the Rush was so actively engaged cruising in pursuit of vessels engaged in illegal seal- ing that our anchorages off the seal rookeries that season were short and infrequent; hence I did not have the opportunity to observe them as closely on land as the preceding year. During 1890 the Kush was not engaged in preventing sealing outside the shore limit, and we spent much time in full view of the seal rook- eries and cruising about the seal islands, and I also made frequent visits to the breeding grounds, The deserted appearance of the rookeries and the absence of seals in the water was very noticeable and was a matter of general remark among the officers of the vessel who had been on the former cruises. Very large tracts of the rookeries which I had formerly seen occupied by the seals were entirely deserted, and the herds were much smaller than those of 1888. My attention was also called, by those conversant with the facts, to the grass growing on the inshore side of some of the rook- eries, and to the three different shades of grass to be seen, indicating the spaces that had not been occupied by. the seals for several years, owing to their diminished number. The darker shade showed where the growth first commenced, and a lighter shade for each succeeding year, There were three or tour differ ently shaded growths, reaching down to the sand of the rookeries, and on that por tion of the ’rookeries occupied by seals they were not lying near as compact as in 1888. In our frequent passages during 1890, between the Aleutian group and the seal islands, we sometimes made an entire passage without seeing a seal. This was entirely different from the experience of the preceding years, indicating a great falling off of seal life. In the year 1880 i thought.I began to notice a falling off from the year previous of the number of seals on North- east Point rookery, but this decrease was so very Danl. Webster, p. 181. slight that probably it would not have been ob- served by one less familiar with seal life and its conditions than I; but I could not discover or learn that it showed itself on any of the other rookeries. In 1884 and 1885 I noticed a decrease, and it became so marked in 1886 that everyone on the islands saw it. This marked de- crease in 1886 showed itself on all the rookeries on both islands. Until 1887 or 1888, however, the decrease was not felt in obtaining skins, at which time the standard was lowered from 6 and 7 pound skins to 5 and 4$ pounds. The hauling grounds of Northeast Point kept up the standard longer than the other rookeries, because, as I believe, the latter rookeries had felt the drain of the open-sea sealing during 1885 and 1886 more tian Northeast Point, the cows from the other “rookeries having gone to the southward to ‘feed, where the majority of the seal- ing schooners were engaged in taking ‘seal. That in pursuance of Department instructions to me of May 27, 1891, I made a careful examination during the sealing season of the habits, numbers, and conditions of W. H. Williams, p. 93. the seals and seal rookeries with a view of report- ing to the Department from observation and such knowledge on the 282 EVIDENCE OF DECREASE subject as I might obtain whether or not in my opinion the seals are diminishing on the Pribilof Islands, and, if so, the causes therefor; that as aresult of such investigation I found from the statements made tome by the natives on said islands, Government agents, employés of the les- sees, some of whom had been on said islands for many years, that a decrease in number of seals had been gradually going on since 1885, and that in the last three years the decrease had been very rapid. A careful and frequent examination of the hauling grounds and breed- ing rookeries by myself and assistant agents during the months of June, July, and August showed that the seals had greatly diminished in number, and we found large vacant spaces on all the rookeries which in former years during these months had been covered by thousands of seals; that prior to 1588 the lessees had been able to take 100,000 skins from male seals, but Iam clearly of the opinion that not more than one-third of that number of merchantable skins could have been taken during the year 1891. ALONG THE COAST. Page 169 of The Case. I know that the seals are much more scarce this year than they were last year. I donot think it is right to kill H. Andricius, p. 314. the mother seals with pups in them. When I was a boy, seal were speared among the islands in Sitka - Sound, but now the few that come along the coast Adam Ayonkee, p. 255. a SB Laas oa i, a i we are obliged to go far out to sea in order to get. Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as compared to previous years?—A,. There has been a decided George Ball, p. 483. decrease. Vessels that used to get with experi- ienced hunters 3,000 or 4,000 in a season, now get with experienced hunters less than half of that number. I find the skins in this lot to run much larger in sizes than those known as the Northwest seals that are now taken Charles J. Behlow, p.404. on the American side. The greater percentage of these 2,170 salted fur-seal skis are of the large breeding cows with fully developed teats. Some years ago the catch of the Northwest seals taken in the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea (on the American side) contained a great number of the large breeding cows as above described; but of late years, on examining the catches, 1 find very few; and this year hardly any, proving conclusively that the the old stock of productive cows is almost exterminated. There has been a great decrease of seals in the last few years from what there was in former years. They are also William Bendt,p.404. getting shy and scared from being hunted so much, and they are now very hard to catch. I don’t think the seals are as plentifulas they were last year, and the Bernhardt Bleiduer, p. hunting of them should be stopped in the North 315. Pacific Ocean. ALONG THE COAST. 283 T can not say positively as to the decrease in numbers, but I know they are much more shy now than when I com- menced sealing. Niels Bonde, p. 316. In 1891 I noticed that there was a considerable decrease in the num- ber of seals seen in the water; also, that they were more shy and wakeful, as compared with my Henry Brown, p. 318. observations in 1890. About six or seven years ago I commenced to notice a decrease in the number of seals arriving in the straits and around the cape. Peter Brown, p. 377. I did not see as many seals as the years previous; I left the vessel in April at Victoria, British Columbia. The seals upon this voyage were more shy than in 1889 and — Thos. Brown, (No. 1), more difficult to capture. p. 319. Seals used to be very plentiful around the cape and in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, but they have been rapidly decreasing during the last five or six years. We Landis Callapa, p. 379. were out sealing a short time ago and captured but five seals. A few years ago, during the same period of time, we would have caught about sixty. They are wilder now and more diffi- cult to catch, and will soon be destroyed if guns are used in hunting them. There was much less number of seals tobe seen Chas. Chalall, p. 410. in the North Pacific and Bering Sea in 1890 than in 1888. Seals used to be plentiful in the straits, but for the last five or six years they have become very scarce in the straits, so that now we can not find any morethere. We Circus Jim, p. 380. used to hunt seals in canoes for about 20 miles out in the ocean, off Cape Flattery and up and down the coast, between Greys Harbor and Barclay Sound. Seals were very plentiful along the coast six or eight years ago. When white men or traders began coming in here with schooners they offered us large inducements to go cruising for seals and we commenced going further from Jas. Claplanhoo, p. 382. land but did not notice any decrease in the num- ber of seals each year, until about six or seven years ago, when vessels with white hunters and armed with shotguns began to appear in con- siderable numbers off the coast. Since that time the decrease has been very rapid. But during the last four or five years there have not been near as many coming to the strait [Of San Juan de Fuca] or on the coast as in former years. There area Jas. Claplanhoo, p. 387. few in the strait, but we do not hunt them now, and can not secure more than one-sixth as many in a season as we used to a few years ago. 284 EVIDENCE OF DECREASE. My observations and experience in 1889 were about the same as in the previous year, except as to the number of seals Louis Culler, p.321. seen, which was much smaller. There was a per- ceptible decrease in the number of seals seen by me in the year 1889 as compared with the year 1888. Hunters talk about the seals increasing from year to year, but I know they are decreasing, and if they keep on killing AlfredDardean, p. 323. them the way they do now there will not be any left in a few years. A few years ago seals were very plentiful in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. Itis not now so. They are so searce in Frank Davis, p.383. the straits that we do not hunt for them there any THOLG..°* Ee One time, when hunting along the coast with a spear, our canoe took 100 seals in five days, but we can not catch as many now. They are very shy and wild, so that if we get two or three now in five days we would be doing very well. I have caught only eight seals this year. Before the white man came here to hunt seals with the shotgun and rifle, five or six years ago, they were not so wild as they are now, and by this time in a year | would have had a hundred or more seals. Years ago, in the winter time, seals were plenty in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca, and I have hunted and helped Jef? Davis, p. 384. to catch them up the straits as far a Pysht, which is about 37 miles from Cape Flattery. Of later years they have quit coming in the straits and we do not hunt for them there any more. Since the seal hunting began to be industriously pursued about the years 188485, and the transfer of American Jas. H. Douglass, p.384. schooners to the British flag at Victoria, British Columbia, took place to avoid seizure, I have been made acquainted, both from observation and conversation with sealers, of the fact of the growing scarcity of seals. The Indians report to me that the seal are very much searcer than they were in former years, and I know that they Wm. Dumean, p.279. don’t bring in as many skins as they did in former years, although skins are bringing a much better price than they used to. From the reports of the officers to me I learned that the seals were much scarcer in 1891 than they were in 1888, when Geo Fogel, p. 424. I first sent them out. I have gone out of the business because it became so unprofitable on account of the scarcity of seals. * * * * * * * A few years ago you could go off shore about 50 miles from San Francisco and you would come across thousands of seals leisurely go- ing north, while now we see but very few. I fitted out the schooner Cygnet in 1874, which was one of the first sealers to go to the Bering ALONG THE COAST. 285 Sea, and we had no trouble in getting seals at that time, for they were very plentiful and gentle, and would stand up and look at the hunters until they shot them. Youcan not dothat now. Seals have been grow- ing very scarce within the last tew years, and it does notpay to fit out sealing schooners. T don’t know what to think about the schooners. Chief Frank, p. 280. There isone thing certain, seals are getting scarce. There were not as many seals last year as there Se oe were the first years I went. i a a There has been a great decrease in the number of seals to be seen in the North Pacific and Bering Sea since I first went out to hunt them. Thos. Gibson, p. 432. To my knowledge, and from conversation with others, [ can state positively that seals have decreased rapidly in numbers off the Pacific coast in the last five or six &. M. Greenleaf, p. 325. years. A schooner used to secure from 700 to 1,400 skins for a spring eatch, whereas now, with all the improved appliances of arms and vessels, the largest catch is less than 500, Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of animals in the last few years?—A. AsI have not hunted on this — @jqs. G@, Hagman, p. coast for several years I amunabletosay. When 435, I was there I saw no difference. Seals were not as plentiful along the coast this Jas. Harrison, p. 327. year as they were in 1891. It is reported to me by Indians who hunt fur-seal that they are be- coming very scarce. They have noticed decrease 3 Jac. Hartlisnuk, p. 239. in the last four years. ! Fur-seal are getting very scarce along this coast and Indian fur-seal hunters have great trouble in getting any now, while in former years they got plenty. Sam Hayikahtla, p. 239, Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of animals in the last few years? In other words, do you find them as plenty now in the last year or two as you used —_H. Harmsen, p. 442. to?—A. Of course not. They are not so plentiful, that is sure. In 18380 we got 2,100 seals. Now you couldn’t get 300 in the same time. Thave noticed a decrease in number of seals from year to year in the waters of the Bering Sea since about 1836, and for the last three years the decrease has been very J, M. Hays, p. 26. rapid. Up to about 1884 the Bering Sea around the Pribilof Islands, and between said islands and the passes, was swarming with seals during the breeding season, but for the last few years the decrease in numbers has been so marked that I could not fail to notice it. 286 EVIDENCE OF DECREASE Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as compared to previous years?—A. I think there has been a Wm. Henson, p.484._ decrease of seals as compared to previous years of about 25 per cent or more. Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals, as com- pared to previous years?—A. Well, for the length Yee ew J. Hoffman, P- of time that I have been out there is not much , difference. Gustave Isaacson, p.440._ (. Have you noticed any decrease in the quan- tity of seals in the last few years?—A. Yes, sir; a great decrease. Seals are diminishing along the coast, and unless pelagic sealing is Victor Jackobson, p. stopped in the Pacific Ocean the seal will become 328. exterminated. Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of animals in the last few years?—A. I have found a decrease. I Frank Johnson, p. 441. have not been doing much sealing in the last three or four years. I have been otter hunting, princi- pally. Jack Johnson, p. 282. Seal are not nearly as plentiful on the coast as in former times. About six years ago [ noticed the seal herd began to decrease, and they are getting less each year ever since the Selwish Johnson, p.388. White hunter came about here and commenced killing them with guns. * * * They are very scarce now, and very wild and difficult to catch. The seals were not near as plentiful along the coast and Bering Sea in 1891 as they were in 1890, They wanted me to Jas. Kean, p. 448. ship this year on a sixth lay—that is, every sixth skin was to be mine—but I thought the seals were so scarce it would not pay me to go. It is the common conversation among us hunters that the seals are getting so scarce it does not pay for us to goand hunt them unless they will give us a better price per skin, and a great many of the old hunters would not go out this year on that account. In 1888 I made a fishing voyage to the Bering Sea, and while in there heard the captain and officers discussing about James Kennedy, p. 449. the decrease of seals on the islands and in the water. I heard it discussed on our return at the different ports we put in at, and also in Victoria on our arrival, and all said the seals were decreasing. I have often conversed with many other persons who, like myself, were engaged in sealing, and they agreed with James Kiernan, p. 451. me in the statements herein made as to the de- struction and disappearance of the seals in the northern waters. My view of the matter could, I have no doubt, be corroborated by hundreds of persons experienced in sealing, it they be ALONG THE COAST. 287 found. At this season of the year, however, they are absent from the coast hunting and fishing on the ocean. Sealare getting very scarce on the coast the last three or four years. * * * Indian hunters can not get any more in canoes, on account of the few seals that areleft Kinkooga, p. 240. are so far from the land. At every village (and we stopped at over nine on Vancouver Island) I interrogated the Indians to the best of my ability, ; : and they all agreed there were very few seals ee eo iri mackie now compared with the great numbers which were "°°" found formerly, and that this decrease began five or six seasons ago. When I first began to hunt seals the females Jas. Klonacket, p. 283. - were plenty, but now they are not so plenty. They were formerly much more plentiful than of late years. In the early part of the season the males are most num- erous, a few females being taken toward its close, Frank Korth, p. 235 in the latter part of May. It is harder to find the pups now than it wasafew years ago. There does notseem to be so many of them as there used — Ivan Krukoff, p. 209. to be. Seals first appear in Prince William Sound about the 1st of May, and were formerly quite plentiful, while now they are Olaf Kvam, p. 236. becoming constantly scarcer. I often converse with the masters of the vessels relative to the fur- seal, and they tell me that they are scarcer each year, and that it is much harder to make a voyage Jas, Lajlin. p. 451. than it usedto be. * * * From my experience in dealing with the people interested in sealing, and from my own personal observation, I know the seals are decreas- jng very fast in Bering Sea. Deponent further says that by reason of his knowledge of the busi- ness he knows that the number of seals has greatly a aa a diminished within the last five years. St lac al I have noticed in examining the skins of the northwest or ‘‘ Victoria catch” during the last two years that they aver- age much smaller in size than they formerly did. Isaac Liebes, p. 453. The large breeding cows, of which this catch used to contain a considerable percentage, are now almost entirely absent, showing conclusively that the old stock has been exterminated, and the supply upon which they are now drawing is comprised of younger animals. ¥rom what [learned when fishing inthe Bering Caleb Lindahl, p. 456, Sea there are not nearly as many seals there as there were ten years ago. 288 - EVIDENCE OF DECREASE I think I noticed fewer seals that year than I did in 1889. Seals along the coast are not near as plentiful now as Thos. Lowe, p. 371. they were when I first began to hunt them. I used to catch 9 or 10 seals in one day; but they are so shy, and so scarce now, that a canoe does not get that many in a month. Have noticed a decrease in seal along the coast, and it is the general opinion that they are decreasing very J. D. McDonald, p. 266. fast. Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of seals in the last few yearsover what it was a few years formerly ?— Alexander McLean, p. A, YT have noticed a decrease since I have been in 437. the business; I have made a catch from 3,500, com- ing down to gl 000, a little less than one-half. Q. You do not consider there are ‘nearly as many seals now as there used to bein the water?—A. No, sir; not now. I have been in the business for ten years, and I think in another ten years there will be a great deal less. The seals were not nearly as plentiful in 1891 as Thos. Madden, p.463. they were in 1888. I think they are decreasing rapidly. There are not near as many hunters hunting seal as there used to be, for the seal are decreasing very fast. I know, be- pyeak Mason, p. 284. cause I am hunting seal all the time. The hunters say the seals are getting scarcer Wm. Mason, p. 466. —_ all the time, and that it does not pay to go unless they get more for a skin. Thorwal Mathasan, p. J think the seals are not so plentiful on the 9. coast as last year. * * Seals did not seem to be near as plentiful as last year. They were formerly found in this region in great numbers, but of ; late years they have been constantly diminishing, oe Monin et al, P- owing to the number of sealing vessels engaged in killing them. Q. Have you noticed any decrea 86 in the quantity of animals in the last few years?—A. There is no doubt but what Frank Moreau, p. 468. there is a ty ease. Jno. Morris, p. 340. Seals are scarcer now than in former years. When I was in the sea in 1887 seals were very plentiful there, but in 1889 there were not so many, and in 1891 there Moses, p. 310. were fewer still. When I was a small boy fur-seal used to come into Clarence Straits, but it has been a good many years now sluce any Yann 7 ( ; Smith Natch, p. 298. fur-seal have been seen there. ALONG THE COAST? 289 There have only been two seal killed by the four canoes hunting off Cape Muzon this season, which shows plainly enough that the seal are most all gone. Dan Nathlan, p. 287. Fur-seal are not as plentiful on the coast as they used to be. The Indians kill but very few now. In former years they used to get many of them, but the last few — Nechantake, p. 241. years they have become very scarce and the In- dian hunters take very few. I believe there has been a great decrease in the number of the fur-seals frequenting the Pribilof Islands. Years ago I used to see a great number of them in Bering Sea Arthur Newman, p. 211. while making passage between Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands during the breeding season, but now only a few are seen, and these are observed much nearer to the islands than was for- merly the case. Seals were not so thick in the sea that year as they were about four years previous to that time. Seals are likewise rapidly decreasing all along the coast. Osly, p. 391. Seals were much less in numbers off the coast in 1890 than they were about 1885. They have either been destroyed or driven off. We had no trouble in making a sea- William Parker, p. 344. son on the coast, weather permitting, of from 700 to 1,300, and now 500 is a good catch. Seals are very much more scarce than they were when I began to seal in schooners. Inever see any more big herds like I used to, and it is much more difficult to get — Wilson Parker, p. 392. to them now than in former years. They have got wild and shy, because they have been hunted too much with guns. I used to hunt for seals in the Straits of San Juan de Fuea, but of late years have not done so because the seals do not come into the straits any more. There are not as many seal-skins offered for sale now as in former years, and last year our people caught less than — Chestoqua Peterson, p. one-eighth of what they used to prior to 1886. 393, Do not think there are now as many fur-seals —_Eliah Prokopief, p. 215. as there were thirty years ago, but do not know the cause of the decrease. During past four years have not noticed much _ VV. Roberts, p.242. change in number of seal. I do know that where Indians formerly went out Adel Ryan, p. 299. and brought back fifteen seals they scarcely bring back one now. I noticed a decrease in the number of seals off — Wm, Short, p. 348, Cape Flattery when there in 1891, as compared with the other season, PBs 290 EVIDENCE OF DECREASE Showoosch, p. 243. I haven’t killed any seal lately, as they are get- ting very scarce. In former years I found great numbers of fur-seals, but within the last few years I have observed that they have Alexander Shyha, p.226. greatly diminished in numbers, so that now I do not find any off Cape Elizabeth and the adjacent region, where formerly they abounded. Skeenong, p. 244. Have heard all the Indians with whom I have come in contact say that the fur-seal are becom- ing very scarce of late years. All the hunters went out hunting this season, and returned home discouraged, only catching two fur-seals. The Geo. Skultka,p. 290. fuy-seal, like the sea-otter, are all gone. To the best of my knowledge and belief fur-seal life has considerably diminished within the past few years, which. fact Jno. W. Smith, p. 233. I attribute to the large number of vessels which have been engaged in pelagic seal hunting of late years. (Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as compared ental 7 1AE QQ ; ya Qe » € ~epes Gustave Sundvall, p. to previous years?—A. There has been a decrease. 481. From the time I started sealing I guess there has been a decrease of 25 per cent. Adolph W. Thompson, They were not nearly as plentiful that season p. 486. as they were in 1890. g Chartte Diakemigny 2. When spear was used seal were very plentiful; at since shotgun is used they are becoming very scarce. John C. Tolman, p.222. Sealers report that seals are not as plentiful as in former years. From my personal observation [I know there has been a very great decrease within the past four or five years in the Chas. T. Wagner, p.212. number of seals found in the North Pacific and and Bering Seas. Rudolph Watton, p.272. Sealare decreasing on the coast. Have noticed they have decreased rapidly the last two years. Vive years ago it was acommon occurrence to sail past large numbers of fur-seals; many times we found them asleep on M. L. Washburn, p. 488. the water, and they were not easily frightened at the presence of a vessel, but for the last two years the seals have been more scattering, fewer in numbers, and much more shy. In my journeys in these waters I have noticed that seals are much less plentiful than when I first went there five M. L, Washburn, p. 489.years ago, and that the decrease has been very marked in the last two years, ALONG THE COAST. 291 Within the last five or six years the seals are Watkins, p. 395 becoming fewer and fewer, and are wiid and shy and very hard to catch. Last year there were fewer than ever before. This season the natives caught about one-half as many as last. In his opinion the seals will soon be exterminated, and fWeckenunesch, p. 272. in three years there will be no more sealing. Until about eight years ago I used to catch seals in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca, but for the last two or three years they have been so scarce in the straits that — ispoo, p. 396. we do not try to hunt them any more. Seal have become very scarce around Prince of Billy Yeltachy, p. 302. Wales Island since the white men began hunting them in schooners. * *% The Indians are obliged to go a long way now for seal. I have been out three times this year and have only killed one seal, and only saw two or three this season. Seals are much scarcer now than they used to be six or eight years ago. They used to go ten or fifteen in a bunch, but now we seldom see more than two or three — Thos. Zolnoks, p. 398. together. CAUSE. LACK OF MALE LIFE NOT THE CAUSE. Page 172 of The Case. The abundance of male life for service upon the rookeries was evi- denced by the number of young bulls which con- tinuailly sought ledgment upon the breeding J. Stanley Brown, p. 14. grounds. It is highly improbable that the rookeries have ever sustained any injury from insufficient service on the part of the males, for any male that did not possess sufficient vitality for sustained potency would in- evitably be deprived of his harem by either his neighbor or some lusty young aspirant, and this dispossession would be rendered the more cer- tain by the disloyalty of his consorts. The seal being polygamous in habit, each male being able to pro- vide for a harem averaging twenty or thirty mem- bers, and the proportion of male to female born J. Stanley Brown, p. 18. being equal, there must inevitably be left a reserve of young iminature males, the death of a certain proportion of which could not in any way affect the annual supply coming from the breed- ing grounds. These conditions existing, the Government has permit- ted the taking, with three exceptions, up to 1890, of a quota of about 292 CAUSE. 160,000 of these young male seals annually. When the abundance of seal life, as evidenced by the areas formerly occupied by seals, is con- sidered I do not believe that this couid account for or play any appre- ciable part in the diminution of the herd. * * * From my knowledge of the vitality of seals I do not believe any injury ever occurred to the reproductive powers of the male seals from redriving that would retard the increase of the herd, and that the driv- ing of 1890 necessary to secure about 22,000 skins could not have caused nor played any important part in the decrease that was apparent on every hand last year. The whole time T was there there was an ample supply of full-grown vigorous males sufficient for serving all the females Chas. Bryant, p. 7. on the islands, and every year a surplus of vigor- ous bulls could always be found about the rook- eries awaiting an opportunity to usurp the place of some old or wounded bull, unable longer to maintain his place on the breeding grounds. I should except from this general statement the seasons of 1873 and to 1875, when the destruction of young males in 1868, and the error made by the company under their misapprehension as to the character of skins to be taken for market, perceptibly affected the males on the breeding grounds. It is not certain that the fertilizing of the females was thereby affected, aud this gap was filled up, and from this time on there was at all times not only a sufficiency but a surplus of male life tov breeding purposes. Plenty of bulls all the time on the rookeries, and plenty bulls have a no cows. [never seen a three-year-old cow without Karp Buterin, p.103. 9 yup in July; only two-year-olds have no pups. I never noticed any disproportion of the sexes that would lead meto suspect thatthe“ bull” seals were too few, nor more H. N. Clark, p. 159. than an oceasional barren “ cow.” These latter were so few as to excite no remark; but if any such se ee did, in fact, exist in 1888 and 1889 it was the fault of those who killed them at sea, because it never occurred at all until the marine hunters became numerous and aggressive. I mention this matter here because, since I left the island, I have heard it asserted that the misman: agement there caused the de crease of seal life. The management there was just such as I would follow if all the seals be- longed to me. I never saw any impotent bulls on the rockeries, and do not believe there ever was any, unless it was the result of C. L. Fowler, p. 25. age; nor do I believe that young male seals were ever rendered impotent by driving. There has al- ways been a plenty of bulls on the rookeries for breeding purposes ever since I have been on the islands. IT never knew of a time when there were not plenty of bulls for all tae cows, and [ never saw a cow se: a John Fratis, p. 109. two-year-old—without a pup by her side in the proper season. I never heard tell of an impotent bull seal, nor do L believe there is such a thing, excepting the very old LACK OF MALE LIFE NOT THE CAUSE. 293 and feeble, or badly wounded ones. I have seen hundreds of idle vig- orous bulls upon the rookeries, and there were no cows for them. i saw many such bulls last year. During these years there was always a sufficiency of vigorous male life to serve all the female seals which came to the islands, and certainly during this period seal 4. N. Glidden, p. 109. life was not affected by any deficiency of males. The orders of the “‘ boss ” of the gang, in which I worked in 1888 and 1889, under the management of the Alaska Com- mercial Company, were not to kill the five-year old Alex. Hansson, p. 116. bulls, because they were, he said, needed on the rookeries. We noticed idle vigorous bulls on the breeding rookeries, because ot the scarcity of cows, and I have noticed that the cows have decreased steadily every year since Aggei Kushen, p. 128. 1886, but more particularly so in 1888, 18389, 1890, and 1891. And I am satisfied a sufficient number of males was always reserved for future breeding purposes. That during the twenty years I was upon said Pribilof Islands, as general agent of said Alaska Commercial Com- pany there were reserved upon the breeding 4. H. McIntyre, p. 45. rookeries upon said islands sufficient vigorous bulls to serve the number of females upon said rockeries; that while I was located upon said islands there was at all times a greater number of adult male seals than was necessary to fertilize the females who hauled upon said rookeries and that there was no time when there were not vigorous bulls on the rookeries who were unable to obtain fe- male consorts. So well was this necessity for reserving sufficient mature male life recognized that when in 1887, 1888, and 1889 the depleted rookeries (depleted from causes that will be explained further on) would not fur- nish the quota of 100,000 large skins, two and three years old male seals were taken to make up the quota in preference to trenching upon this reserve of maturer male life. Abial P. Loud, p. 88. The policy of the Alaska Commercial Company, during the whole period of its lease, was, as might be naturally ex- pected, to obtain the best possible skins formarket 4H. H. McIntyre, p.52. and at the same time preserve the rookeriesagainst injury, for it was not only in their interests to be able to secure every year, until the expiration of the lease, the full quota allowed by law, but they confidently expected, by reason of their good management of the business, and faithful fulfillment of every obligation to the Govern- ment, to obtain the franchise for a second term. I was, therefore, always alert to see that the due proportion of breeding males of serv- iceable age was allowed to return to the rookeries. This was a com- paratively easy task prior to 1882, but became from year to year more difficult as the seals decreased. No very explicit orders were given to the “bosses” upon this point until 1888, because the bulls seemed to be plentiful enough, and because it was easier to kill and skin a small seal than a large one, and the natives were inclined for tiis reason to 294 CAUSE. allow the large ones to eseape; but in 1888 and 1889 there was sueh a marked scarcity of breeding males upon the rookeries that [ gave strict orders to spare all five-year-old bulls and confine the killing to smaller animals. I have never known or heard tell of a time when there was not bulls enough and to spare on the breeding rookeries. I Anton Melovedog, p. 142. never saw a cow of 3 years old or over in August without a pup by her side. The only cows ona breeding rookery without pups are the virgin cows who have come there for the first time. IT never went onto arookery in the breeding season when I could not have counted plenty of idle vigorous bulls who had no cows. Talk of epidemics among seals and of impotent bulls on the rook- eries, but those who have spent a lifetime on the sealislands, and whose business and duty it has been to guard and observe them, have no knowl- edge of the existence of either. An important bull dare not attempt to go on a rookery, even had he a desire to do sc. Excepting the ex- tremely old and feeble, [ have never seen a bull that was impotent, Nor is there any shadow of fact for the idle statement made from time to time about a dearth of bulls on the rookeries or of impotent bulls. IT have talked to the old men of our people, men who can remember back over fifty years, and not one of them knows of a time when there was not plenty of bulls, and more than enougii on the breeding rook- eries, and no one here ever heard of animpotent bull. * * * It has been said that cows are barren sometimes because of the dearth of bulls, but such is not the case at all, for the only cows on the breed- ing rookeries in July or August without pups are the two-year-olds (vir- gins), which have come on the rookeries for the first time. Simeon Melovidov, p. 146. Despite the lowering of the standard weight of skins, care was taken annually on St. George that the residue of avail- T. F. Morgan, p. 63. able male breeders was sufticient for the needs of the rookeries, and instructions to that effect were given to the assistants by the superintendent of the Alaska Commercial Company. In this we were aided by the inaccessible character of some of the hauling grounds. During these years there were always a sufficiency of male seals for breeding purposes, and in every year L saw great I, H. Moulton, p. 71. numbers of idle, vigorous bulls about and back of the breeding grounds, which were unable to obtain females. During my observations in 1890, I was led to believe that the de- crease was partly due to the lack of bulls on the Jos. Murray, p. T4. breeding rookeries, and Iso reported to Agent Goff; but after thoroughly investigating the sub- ject the next year by daily visits to the breeding grounds of the sev- eral rookeries, where L saw nearly every cow with a pup by her side, and hundreds of vigorous bulls without any cows, I came to the con- clusion that there is no truth in the theory, and that it was the cows that were scarce and steadily decreasing. Had I had a doubt it would LACK OF MALE LIFE NOT THE CAUSE. 295 have been dispelled when I was informed that the combined fleets had warned ninety -one poaching schooners out of Bering Sea before August 25, 1891, and that each of the schooners had seal skins on board, whie hs in the aggregate, numbered about 30,000, of which 90 per cent were found to be females. During my stay on the islands I have never seen a time during the breeding season when there has not been a num ber of large, vigorous young bulls hanging about 4. 2. Nettleton, p the borders of the rookeries watching for an op- portunity to get a position of their own. 15 The “dearth of bulls theory” has been thoroughly and impartially investigated without discovering a cow of 5 years old or over on the rookeries without a pup by her 1. A. Noyes, p. 84. side at the proper time, and | am convinced that the virgin females coming on to the rookeries for the first time are the only ones to be found there without pups. The investigation established the additional fact that hundreds of vigorous bulls were lying idle on the rookeries without cows, and many others had to content themselves with only one or two. The theory of ‘“impotency of the bull through overdriving” while young was also found to be untrue, and it was shown that after 1878 all long drives on both islands had been abolished, and instead of driving seals from 6 to 12 miles, as was done in Russian times, none were driven to exceed 24 miles. It is also a well-known fact that none but the physically strong and aggressive bulls can hold a position on the rookeries, and that a weak or an impotent animal has no desire to go there. A dearth of bulls on the breeding rookeries was a pet theory of one or two transient visitors, but it only needed a thorough investigation of the condition of the J, © Redpath, p. 151. rookeries to convince the mostskeptical that there were plenty of bulls, and to spare, and that hardly a cow could be found on the rookeries without a pup at her side. Yor five years IL have given this particular subject my most earnest attention, and every succeeding year’s experience has convinced me that there is not and never was a dearth of bulls. The theory of impo- tency of the young bulls because of overdriving when young is not worthy of consideration by any sane or honest man who has ever seen a bull seai on a breeding rookery; and as I have already answered the question of overdriving I will only add here that no young bull ever goes upon a breeding rookery until he is able to fight his way in, and an impotent bull has no desire to fight, nor could he win a position on the rookery were he to attempt it. The man is not alive who ever saw a Six or seven year old bull seal impotent. There was always in both seasons a great sufficiency of adult males to serve all the females coming to the island, and I noticed each year a great number of idle, vigor- B. F. Scribner, p. 89. ous bulls behind the breeding grounds who could not obtain consorts, and one of these extra bulls always took the place of an old male unable longer to be of use for breeding purposes. And that the seals are not nearly so plentiful Jf. L. Washburn, p. 489. az they were five or six years ago. 296 CAUSE. There was never while I have been upon the islands any scarcity of vigorous bulls, there always being a sufficient Danl. Webster, p. 181. number to fertilize all the cows coming to the islands. It was always borne in mind by those on the islands that a sufficient number of males must be preserved for breeding purposes, and this accounts partly for the lowering of the standard weight of skins in 1858. The season of 1891 showed that male seals had certainly been in sufficient number the year before, because the pups on the rookeries were as many as should be for i number of cows landing, the ratio being the same as in former yeat Then, too, there was a surplus of vigorous bulls in 1891 who could ene no COWS. During the season of 1891 nearly every mature female coming upon the rooke ‘es gave birth to a young seal, and W. H. Williams, p. 94. there was great abundance of males of sufficient age to again go upon the breeding grounds that year, aS was shown by the inability of large numbers of them to secure more than one to five cows each, while quite a number could secure none at all. My investigation confirms what has been so often said by others who have reported upon this subject, and that is that the Pribi- lof Islands are the great breeding grounds of the fur-seals, and that they can be reared in great numbers on said islands, and at the same time, under wise and judicious restrictions, a certain number of male seals can be killed from year to year without injury to the breeding herds, and their skins disposed of for commercial purposes, thereby building up and perpetuating this great industry indefinitely, and thus adding to the wealth, happiness, and comfort of the civilized world, while, on the other hand, if the pelagic hunting of this animal is to continue, and the barbarous practice of killing the mother seal with her unborn young, or when she is rearing it, is to go on, it will be but a very short time before the fur-seal will practicé ally ‘become extinct and this valuable industry will pass out of existence. RAIDS ON ROOKERIES NOT THE CAUSE. Page 174 of The Case. It may be worth while to add that the suggestion has been made Report of American that the decrease in the number of seals is due to Commissioners, p. 378 of piraticé al raids upon the islands themselves dur- The Case. ing the breeding season. While it is unquestionably true that such raids have occasionally occurred during the past, and that some skins have been obtained in that way, the number of these is so trifling in comparison with the annual pelagic catch as not to affect in any way the question under consideration. It is also difficult for one familiar with the rookeries and habits of the seal to conceive of a raid being made without its becoming known to the officers in charge of the operations upon the islands. The ‘raid theory,” therefore, may be dismissed as unworthy, in our judgment, of serious consideration. III. The statistics which I have examined, as wellas all the inquiries made, show that in the raids upon the rookeries J. Stanley Brown, p.18. themselves by marauders the loss of seal lite has been too unimportant to play any part in the de- struction of the breeding grounds. The inhospitable shores, the expo- RAIDS ON ROOKERIES NOT THE CAUSE. 297 sure of the islands to surf, the unfavorable climatic conditions, as well -as the presence of the natives and white men, will always prevent raids upon the islands from ever being frequent or effective. During my stay upon St. George Island several attempts were made by poachers to get on shore and steal the seal, but they succeeded, as far as I am aware, only on Harry N. Clark, p. 160. three occasions, and in all those three I do not think they killed more than 1,200 or 1,500 seals, including pups. If any others had effected a landing we should have known it, for the rooker- ies were constantly watched and the natives are very keen in this mat- ter. We tried to make a raid on St. George, but the Peter Duffy, p. 421. Corwin was after us and we kept out of its way. During the time I was on St. George Island there never was a raid on the rookeries to iny knowledge, and I never aie: ; heard of any such raid ever having taken place, 54” Falconer, p- ae I have known of one or two schooners operating in Bering Sea as early as 1877 or 1878, and they were on the rook- eries occasionally durfng the past ten years; but Jno. Fratis, p. 108. they can not damage the seal herd much by raid- ing the rookeries, beeause they can not take many, even were they per- mitted to land, which they are not by any means. Raids on the rookeries by marauders did not, while I was on the island, amount to anything, and certainly seal life there was not affected to any extent by such in- 4. 4. Glidden, p. 111. cursions. I only knew of one raid upon St. Paul Island while I was there. It was by a Japanese vessel, and they killed about 100 seals, the carcasses of which we found on board when we captured the vessel. We sailed about January from Victoria, British Columbia, and sailed along the coast until the latter part of June and went into Bering Sea, and sealed as near to St. Jos. Grymes, p. 434. George Island as we could, and caught about 300 or 400 seals in the sea. Our intention was to make a raid, but were driven away by a revenue cutter. We left the sea about the latter part of July. Max. Heilbronner, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am secretary of the Alaska Commercial Agency, and as such have in my custody all record boeksof the Max Heilbronner, p. 29. company; and among them the daily records or “log book” kept by the agents of the company on St. George Island from 1873 to 1859, inclusive, and on St.Paul Island from 1876 to 1889, inclusive. In these books every occurrence was carefully noted from day to day by the agent in charge at the time. They have been ex- amined under my supervision and show only the following raids on St. George Island during the time covered by them, to wit: October 23, 1891 [1881].—The carcasses of fifteen dead pup seals and a cargo hook were found on a rookery. It was supposed that the crew « 298 CAUSE. of a schooner seen about the island a few days previous landed in the night. October 10, 188i.—FVifteen seal carcasses were found on Zapadnie rookery. A guard was stationed, and the following night the crew of a schooner made an wuisuccessiul attempt to land. The boats were fired on by the guard and retreated. July 20, 1885.—A party landed under the cliffs in a secluded place and killed about five hundred adult female seals and took the skins away with them. They killed about five hundred pups at the same time, leaving them unskinned. July 22, 1885.—A party landed at Starrie Arteel rookery and killed and skinned 120 seals, the skins of which they left in their flight, when pursued by the guard. They killed also about 200 pups, which were left unskinned. November 17, 1888.—A crew landed and killed some seals at Zapad- nie; how many is not known, but at this season of the year the number must have been small, because the seals have nearly all migrated. September 30, 1889.—Wighteen dead seals and four clubs were found on a beach near a rookery. It is not known whether any others were killed. An examination of the St. Paul record does not show any destruc- tive raids upon the island. Itis a fact, however, that in July, 1575, prior to the beginning of the record, the crew of the schooner San Diego landed on Otter Island, a small islet 6 miles from St. Paul, and killed and skinned 1,660 seals. She was captured before leaving the island, and both the skins and vessel were condemned to forfeiture by the United States court. The reports of the superintendent for the lessees show that it was the custom of the company’s agents on the islands to frequently patrol the rookeries whenever the weather was such that a ianding could be effected on them, and to keep watchmen at points distant from the vil- lages, whose special duty it was to report every unusual or suspicious occurrence. For this purpose the northeast point of St. Paul Island was connected with the village by telephone in 1880, a distance of 12 mniles, and the natives instructed in the use of the instrument. If any raids upon the islands, other than those herein mentioned, had oc- curred, I am sure they would have been detected and reported to this office. No such reports are on file. H. H. McIntyre, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I was superintendent of the seal fisheries of Alaska H. H. McIntyre, p.30. from 1871 to 1889, inclusive. The records above referred to were kept under my direction by my assistants on the respective islands. Iwas in frequent correspondence with these assistants when not personally present and am sure that anything worthy of notice would have been promptly reported to me. I believe that these records contain a true account of all destructive raids upon the islands. If there had been any others I should have heard of them. Every unusual occurrence at any point about the islands was noted by the keen-eyed natives and at once reported to the company’s office, the matter was investigated, and a record of it en- tered in the daily journal. I am confident that the only marauding expedition that ever succeeded in killing more than a few dozen seals pach were those of 1875, upon Otter Island, and of 1885 upon St. George Island, the details of which are set forth by Mr. Heilbronner in the foregoing afiidavit. If there were others of which no record appears, RAIDS ON ROOKERIES NOT THE CAUSE. ; 299 the number of seals killed was comaratively very small and had no ap- preciable effect upon seal life. Sometimes they try t6 land on the rookeries, but we drive them off with guns and they never get Nicoli Krukoff, p. 133. many seals that way. I do not mean to say that the seals were injured because a few were killed on the rookeries, when men from schooners landed on the islands in the night or when the fog Aggie Kushen, p. 128. was very thick, for the numbers killed in that way never amounted to much, as it is not often the raiders can land on arookery and escape with their plunder. When on a raid we would watch for a favorable opportunity to make a landing, and then kill male and female fur-seals indiscriminately. Probably for every 500 market- 7, 1. Lenard, p. 217. able skins secured, double that number of pups were destroyed. While I was on the island there were not more than three or four raids on the rookeries to my knowledge, and I think that the destruction to seal life by raiding 4, P. Loud, p. 39. rookeries is a small part of 1 per cent as compared with the numbers taken by killing in the water. It is often difficult to entirely prevent poaching on the islands, al- though in my jadgment it has not been of suffi- cient importance on the Commander Islands to Jno. Malowansky, p.197. have any perceptible influence in the diminution of the herd. I remember seeing an occasional sealing schooner in Bering Sea as long ago as 1878 , but it was in 1854 they came in large numbers. "At first it was supposed they in- 4, Melovedoff, p. 143. tended to raid the rookeries, and we armed a num- ber of men and kept guard every night, and we drove off any boats we found coming to a rookery. Sometimes in a dense fog or very dark night they landed and killed a few hundred seals, but the. numbers taken in this manner are too small to be considered. One cause of destruction is raiding, which has been done upon the shores of the islands. A half dezen such raids are known to me personally; but while it is not 7 F. Morgan, p. 65. possible for me to state with certainty the skins actually secured by such raids, I believe that, although such raiding is detrimental, its injurious effect as compared with the disastrous results of pelagic sealing js insignificant. There were only, as I recollect, tour raids on the islands while I was there; but little or no damage w As done, and seal life was not perceptibly affected by such maraud- J, H. Moulton, p.72. ing. From my personal knowledge of the number of seals killed upon the Pribilof Islands by raids upon the rookeries dur- ing my residence there, and from information _ S, R. Nettleton, p. 76. gained through other sources, I conclude that the 300 CAUSE. number of fur-seals killed is infinitely small compared with the number killed in pelagie sealing; so small, in fact, as to have no appreciable effect upon seal life upon the islands. Tam told that the diminution of seal life has been attributed to raids by poachers upon the seal islands. Very few of Gustave Niebaum, p.78. these have occurred, and the number of skins ob- tained by the poachers has been comparatively infinitesimally small. I think the whole number obtained by them in this way does not exceed 3,000 or 4,000 skins. We were accustomed always to maintain a patrol and guard upon the rookeries whenever the weather was such that poachers could land upon them, and upon the least suspicious circumstances measures were taken to forestall any attempts te steal the seals. The sea is usually rough in the fall when poachers try to get in their work; the shores are, at most places, inac- cessible from boats, and the natives are vigilant and active. If marine hunting is stopped, they can be safely trusted to defend the property upon which their very existence is dependent, as they have done re- peatedly, against any single schooner’s crew. There were occasional raids made upon the islands [Commander] by poachers during our twenty years’ lease, but they Gustave Nicbaum, p. 203. Were generally unsuccessful in killing any consid- erable number of seals, and their raids had no appreciable effect upon the rookeries. During those years the lawless occupation of seat soaching was in its infaney. Marauding vesseis, it is true, ap- H. G. Otis, p. 86. peared from time to time in these waters, but the islands were so well guarded that @uring my term of office there never was a successful raid or landing upen either of the islands of St. Paul or St. George. The only ianding upon any island of the group was made in June, 1881, upon the unoccupied island of Otter (not included in the lease), as described in my special report to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated July 4, 1881. On that oecasion a predatory schooner succeeded in landing a boat’s crew, who killed forty or fifty seals, when they were driven off by a boat sent by me for that purpose from St. Paul, about 6 miles distant. Until 1884 sealing schooners were seen but very seldom near the islands or in Bering Sea, and the few seals taken J.C. Redpath, p.151. by the hunters who raided the rookeries occasion- ally are too paltry to be seriously considered, be- cause the raids were so few, and the facilities for taking many Seals off so utterly insignificant. There was but one successful raid on the rookeries while I was upon the island, and but 125 seals were killed. I do T. F. Ryan, p. 175. not consider that raids on the rookeries have any- thing to do with the decrease of the number of seals. While I was on the islands there were no raids B. F. Scribner, p.90. on the rookeries, and seal life was never depleted at that time dy such means, RAIDS ON ROOKERIES NOT THE CAUSE. 301 There was but one raid on the rookeries while I was there, and that took place on Otter Island, about sixty skins be- ingtaken. After that raid the Government kept WW. B. Taylor, p. 177, aman on Otter Island during the entire summer to protect it from marauders. Raids on the islands never affected seal life to any extent. I do not remember the precise date of the first successful raid upon the rookeries by sealing schooners, but [do know that for the past ten years there have been many Danl. Webster, p. 185. such raids attempted, and afew of them success- fully carried out, and that as the number of schooners increased around the islands, the ‘attempted raids increased in proportion, and it has been deemed necessary to keep armed guards near the rookeries to re- pel such attacks. Although a few of the raids were successful, and a few hundred seals killed and carried off, from time to time during the past ten years, the aggregate of all the seals thus destrovea is too small to be mentioned when considering thecause of the sudden decline of seal life on the Pribilof Islands. MANAGEMENT OF ROOKERIES NOT THE CAUSE. Page 176 of The Case. Tn studying the causes of diminution of seal life there were found a variety of actual and possible sources of destruc- tion which are effeetive in varying degrees. For- J, Stanley Brown, p.17. tunately the most important of these sources were directly under my observation, and the following facts presented them- selves for consideration. The restrictions upon the molestation of the breeding grounds and upon the killing of females has been imperative both on ‘the part of the Government and lessees since the American ownership of the islands, so that in the taking of seals no injury could possibly have occurred to the females and bulls found thereon. For some years past the natives were permitted to kill in the fall a few thousand male pups for food. Such killing has been pro- hibited. Itis not apparent how the killing of male pups could have decreased the number of females on the breeding grounds. If the seals were as numerous to-day on the Pribilof Islands and the manner of driving and killing conducted in the same manner as during my experience there, one Chas. Bryant, p.9. hundred thousand male seals of from 2 to + years of age could be taken from the hauling grounds annually for an indefi- nite period without diminution of the seal herd. Because of the manner of killing seals on the islands, the precautions taken to kill only males of from 2 “to 5 years, and the careful limitation of the numbers taken, Lam 8S. N. Buynitsky p. 22. fully convinced that the taking of seals on the Pribilof Islands could never affect the numbers of the seal herd or de- plete the rookeries, 302 CAUSE. I was in the employ of the Alaska Commercial Company, the former lessees of the seal islands, and their instructions Leander Vox, p.417. were to use the utmost care in taking their quota of seals, so that there might be no diminution in number from year to year, aud I personally know those instructions were rigidly enforced. And that if no other agency is at work in destroying seal life 100,000 bachelor seals can be taken from the Pribilof Saml. Falconer,p.161. Islands yearly for an indefinite period, provided the rockeries were in the same condition they were in 1871. Of this [ am convinced trom the fact that the seals con- tinued to increase during all the time f was upon the islands, when 100,800 were killed every year, except one, w hen 95,000 were taken. The management of the sealeries upon Copper Island, under Russian occupation, was left wholly to the native chiefs C. F. Emil Krebs, p.195. and ignorant laborers of the Russian American Company. The work of killing the seals and curing the skins was done by them in a very unsystematic, careless way; but even then it was understood that, as the seals are polyg am- ous, the surest way to secure an increase of the herd was to kill off surplus males and spare the females, and this was systematically prac- tic ed, resulting, as far as Lamaware, most satisfactorily. After the expira- tionof the franchise of the Russian American Company, in 1867 [think it was, and their abandonment of the island and the execution of the lease to Hutchinson, Kohl & ©o., in 1571, several different parties visited the island, killed seals injudiciously, ‘and inflicted great mjury upon the rookeries. They were restrained to some extent by the na- tives from indiscriminate slanghter, but I have no doubt they killed more male seals than they ought to have done, and perhaps also some females. Upon my arrival at the isk uid, in 1871, the native chief told me that the seals were not as plentiful as they had been formerly. I announced that we intended to secure 6,000 skins that year. They protested that it was too many, and begged that a smaller number be killed for one year at least. We, however, got the 6,000 skins as pro- posed, and an almost constantly increasing number in every subse- quent year as long as I stayed on the islands, until in 1880 the rook- erieS had so deve loped that about 30,000 skins were taken, without in the least injuring them. ‘fhis is proved by the fact that the increase for the next ten years allowed still larger numbers to be killed, amount- ing, I think, in one of the years of the second decade of the lease to about 40,000 skins. In erder to secure uniformity in the methods pursued, respectively, upon the Pribilof Group and Commander Islands the respective lessees of the two interests sent Capt. Daniel Webster, an expert sealer of many years’ experience in the business, and who was at the time in the service of the Alaska Commercial Company at St. Paul Island, to as- sist and instruct me through the summer of 1374 in the best manner of handling seal droves, salting skins, and, generally, in the conduct of the Beare In working under his direction | found that the methods pursued by the respec tive parties upon the different sealeries did not differ in any essential feature. The main object in both places was to select good skins for market and spare all female seals and enough vigs orous bulls to serve them. When the supply of buils is more than enough [have no doubt the number of offspring is diminished. The pulls, when overnuinerous, fight savagely for the possession of the cow MANAGEMENT OF ROOKERIES NOT THE CAUSE. 303 seals and unintentionally destroy many young in their conflicts. The healthiest condition of a rookery is, no doubt, when, under the Jaws of polygamous reproduction tor this species, the proportion of the sexes is properly balanced. Following the surrender of occupancy of these islands by the Rus- sian American Company in 1868, the sealeries were left open to ail parties and various expedi- Gustave Niebawm, p. 202. tions visited them unrestricted by any govern- mental control. Their catches amounted in 1868 to about 15,000; in 1869 to about 20,000, and in 1870 to about 30,600 skins. In 1871 the Russian Government executed the lease to Hutchinson, Kohl & Co., and it was found necesssary to restrict the killing for this year to about 6,000 skins, because the rookeries had been largely de- pleted by the excessive killing, unwise methods, and heedless hus- bandry. The result of improved methods showed themselves at once, and the rookeries steadily increased in size and number of oceupants, We were thus enabled to procure an almost constantly increasing num- ber of skins from year to year during the whole term of our lease. We were unrestricted as to the numbers to be taken, and after the first two years of the lease were urged by the Russian authorities upon the islands to take more than we wanted in view of the condition of the seal-skin market. I revisited the islands on various occasions subsequent to 1871, and my observations confirmed the fact that we were moving in the right direction to secure an increase of the rookeries. The experience of the whole term of the lease proves conclusively that our policy in conduct- ing the business was a wise one and that our manner of handling, man- aging, and killing the seals was in every respect what it should have been. This policy was predicated upon the custom of the Russian American Company observed during many years and strengthened by my own actual experience in conducting the business of taking seals upon the Pribilof Islands in 1867-68 and 1869, and more particularly during the season of 1868, when there was unrestricted sealing done by various parties regardless of the future of the rookeries. The perni- cious effects of the methods pursued by them were at once observed, and measures immediately taken by me, aided by the natives, over whom I had complete control, to correct their practices and bring them within the reasonable customs already proved efficacious in preserving the rookeries from annihilation. If the right proportion is maintained between the sexes, the greatest possible number of progeny is assured. As long as we were able to keep exclusive control, undis- 4. H. McIntyre, p.53. turbed by outside influences, we maintained the steady increase of the herd and profitable returns from the industry. When outside parties, beyond our jurisdiction, carried on their de- structive work, to any considerable extent, the equilibrium of the sexes was destroyed, any calculation of those in charge of the islands was nullified or miscarried, and the speedy decrease and ultimate destrue- tion of the seals and sealing industry made certain. We protect and take good care of the seals, and if they were not killed in the sea we could make them increase upon the islands so that aey: would be as many 4, Melovedoff, p. 145, as before, 304 CAUSE. We can care for and protect the mature seals as well as the cattle on the ranges are cared for and protected, and if S. Melovidov, p. 147. they could be guarded from the hunters in the sea we could by good management again make the rookeries as large as_ before. Naturally the cause of this diminution was a matter of interest and inquiry. Itwasnot evident thatit was from causes T. F. Morgan, p. 64. incident to the taking of seals upon the island. The greatest care was exercised in the driving; under precisely similar conditions the herd had increased in former years; the number of skins originally apportioned to St. George Island was reduced at an early date, and only increased in proportion to the rookeries’ expansion. No disturbance of the rookeries was per- mitted, even the presence of dogs and use of firearms being prohibited during the presence of the seals. The management of the rookeries the first fifteen years of the Alaska Commercial Company’s lease resulted in a large Leon Sloss, p. 91. increase of seals. The same business manage- ment continued, and the same system was pursued to the end of the term, yet in the last five years the rookeries fell off. Clearly it was through no fault of the company, and resulted from some cause beyond their control. I do not think the Alaska Commercial Company made any mistakes in managing the seal herd. They handled them in every respect as | would have done if they had been my own personal property, and as I would do if they were now to come into my hands. If they erred in any particular in their management, it was in their futile attempt in 1888 and 1889 to stop the waste of seal life at the island spigot while it was running out at the bunghole of pelagic sealing. The record shows that we did not finish the catch as early in 1885 as had been done in former years. I do not think this was from any lack of seals, but was caused by greater care in making our selection of ani- mals to be killed. TL again visited St. Paul Island and remained there several days in the summer of 1885, but saw no evidence then, or Geo. H. Temple, p.154. When formerly on the island, to lead me to think that the lessees were damaging the rookeries, or doing anything different from what a judicious regard for the future of the industry would dictate. In giving this evidence I am as free from prejudice as is possible when entertaining, as Ido, a feeling that the late lessees tr eated me in some measure unjustly, nor have I any interest whatever in the seals or the products of the sealeries. EXCESSIVE KILLING THE ADMITTED CAUSE. Page 176 of The Case. We find that since the Alaska purchase a marked diminution in sstsitenel. nee ek the number of scals on and habitually resorting Wied to the Pribilof Islands has taken place; that it , has been cumulative in effect, and that it is the result of excessive killing by man, PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 305 PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE. Opinions.—American Commissioners. Page 177 of The Case. Having answered the first of the two queries relating to conditions of seal life at the present time, the secoud becomes important. It is: Has the decrease in numbers eportof aes peg been confined to any particular class of seals, ir le P- ee or is it most notable in any class or classes? In answer to this it is our opinion that the diminution in numbers began and continues to be most notable in female seals. As a matter of fact, there is sufficient evidence to convince us that by far the greater part of the seals taken at sea ; are females; indeed, we have yet to meet with eportof pan ee oe any evidence to the contrary. The statementsof "Gis po those who have had occasion to examine the catch of pelagic sealers might be quoted to almost any extent to the effect that at least 80 per cent of the seals thus taken are females. On one occasion we examined a pile of skins picked out at random, and which we have every reason to believe was a part of a pelagic catch, and found them nearly all females. When the sealers themselves are not influenced by the feeling that they are testifying against their own in- terests they give similar testimony. The master of the sealing schooner J. G. Swan declared that in the catch of 1890, when he secured several hundred seals, the proportion of females to males was about four to one, and on one occasion in a lot of sixty seals, as a matter of curiosity he counted the number of females with young, finding 47. The decrease in the number of seals is the re- Report of American Com- sult of the evil effects of pelagic sealing. Pear eRe oi Of The Opinions.—Dr. Allen. Page 177 of The Case. 13. From the foregoing summary it is evident that the decline in the number of the killable seals at the Pribilof rook- eries and the immense decrease in the total num- , ce oe on : re = cal ber of seals on the Pribilof Islands arenot due to ~7?*" 7 7 * any change in the management of the seal herd at the islands, but to the direct and unquestionably deleterious effects of pelagic sealing. At the islands the killing is regulated with reference to the number of killable seals on the rookeries; the designated quota is limited to non- breeding young males, and every seal killed is utilized. The killing, as thus regulated, does not impair the productiveness of the rookeries. In pelagic sealing the slaughter is indiscriminate and unlimited, and a large proportion of the seals killed are lost. The catch also consists almost wholly of breeding females, which at the time of capture are either heavy with young or have young on the rookeries depending upon them for sustenance. Thus two or more seals are destroyed to every one utilized, and nearly all are drawn from the class on which the very existence of the seal herd depends, 20B8 306 CAUSE. Opinions—Experts. Page 177 of The Case. Thave always taken a great interest in the sealing industry, and felt a great desire to have them protected from de- Geo. R. Adams, p. 158.struction, and I say, without hesitation, that the great decrease in the number now annually arriv- ing at the seal islands is due entir ely to the killing of female seals by pe- lagic hunters. From my general knowledge of natural history, from my study of the habits of seals, as well as from the opportu- A. B. Alewander, p. 356. nities I have had to acquaint myself with the - sources of destruction which are at work, I firmly believe that pelagic sealing would not only account for the diminution of the seal herd, but if continued the seals will inevitably be commer- cially destroy ed. Jas. Armstrong, p. 2. I believe there has been a great decrease of seals on the islands since [ left ‘there, and this is no doubt due to pelagic hunting. My people wondered why this was so, and no one could tell why until we learned that hunters in schooners were shoot- Kerrick Artomanof, p. ing and destroying them in the sea. Then we 100. knew what the trouble was, for we knew the seals they killed and destroyed must be cows, for most all the males remain on or near the islands until they go away in the fall or forepart of the winter. We also noticed dead pups on the rook- eries, that had been starved to death. If they had not killed the seals in the sea there would be as many on the rookeries as there was ten years ago. There was not more than one- fourth as pe seals in 1891 as there was in 1880. We understand the danger there is in the seals being all killed off and that we will have no way of earning our living. There is not one of us but what believes if they had not killed them off by shooting them in the water there would be as many seals on the island now as there was in 1880, and we could go on forever taking 100,000 seals on the two islands; but if they get less as fast as they have i in the last five or six years there will be none left in a little while. Upon examining the Bering Sea catch for 1891, as based upon the records of the Victoria custom- house, I ascertained J. Stanley Brown, p.19. that nearly 30,000 seals had been "taken by the British fleet alone in Bering Sea during the sum- mer of 1891. When there is added to this the catch of the “American vessels, the dead pups upon the rookeries, and allowances made for those that are killed and not recovered, we have @ catch whieh wiil not only nearly reach in numbers the quota of male seals allowed to be taken upon the islands in years gone by, but we have a catch in the securing of which destruction has fallen most heavily upon the producing females. This is borne out bya further fact. The young bachelor seals can lie idly on the hauling grounds and through the peculiarities of their physical economy sustain life with a small supply of food, but the PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 307 cows must range the ocean in search of nourishment that they may meet the demands made upon them by their young. That seals go a great distance from the islands I know from personal observation, for we saw them 120 miles to the northward of the island on the way to Nunivak. That the females outnumber the males ten to one is well known, otherwise the hauling ground would present such an array of killable seal that there would be no necessity for the Government to suspend the annual quota. It inevitably follows that the females are the class most preyed upon in Bering Sea. No class of animals which bring forth but a single offspring annually can long sustain itself against the destruction of the producers. Asa result of my investigations L believe that the destruction of fe- males was carried to the point in about 1885 where the birth rate could not keep up the necessary supply of mothers, and that the equilibrium being once destroyed and the drain upon the producing class increasing from year to year from that date, the present depleted condition of the rookeries has resulted directly therefrom. When we first noticed that the seals on the rookeries were not so many as they used to be we did not know what was wrong, but by and by we found that plenty arp Buterin, p. 103. of schooners came into the sea and shot seals, and we often found bullets and shot in seals when we were skinning them. And then we found plenty dead pups on the rookeries, more and more every year, until last year (1891) when there were so many the rook- eries were covered with them, and- when the doctor (Akerly) opened some of them there was no milk or food in their stomachs. Then we all knew the cows had been shot when they went into the sea to feed, and the pups died because they had nothing to eat. Plenty schooners came first about eight or nine years ago, and more and more every year since; and the seals get less and less ever since schooners caine; and my people kept saying ‘no cows,” “no cows.” First the cows get less, and then the “bachelors” get less, and the company agent he says “kill smaller seals,” and we kill some whose skins weigh only 44 pounds, instead of 7 pounds, same as they always got. Then we could not get encugh of seals, and at last we could hardly get enough tor meat. Schooners kill cows, pups die, and seals are gone. The cause of this decrease I believe to be due to the promiscuous killing of the seals by hunters in the open sea and the disturbance caused by their presence in de- Jas. A. Douglass, p.419. stroying the mother seals and scattering the herds. And I know of no other cause for the decrease than that of the kill- ing of the cows at sea by the pelagic hunters, which I believe must be prohibited if the Alaskan @. L. Fowler, p. 26. fir-seal is to be saved from total destruction. In my opinion, pelagic sealing is the cause of redriving on the islands, the depletion of the rookeries, and prom- ises to soon make the Alaska fur-seal herd a thing Chas. J. Goff, p. 113. of the past. If continued as it is to-day, even if killing on the islands was absolutely forbidden, the herd will in a few years be exterminated, . 308 : CAUSE. During my visits to the islands of St. Paul and St. George for the last twenty years I have carefully noticed that M. A. Healey, p.27. — those islands were visited by great herds of fur- seals during the breeding season, and that al- though 100,000 male seals were taken annually at the islands by the lessees no perceptible diminution in their numbers was noticeable until within the past few years, when the killing of seals in the open sea on the part of fishing vessels became prevalent, since which time there has been a very perceptible diminution in the number of seals seen in the water of the Bering Sea and hauling grounds on the islands. This decrease has become alarmingly sudden in the last three or four years, due I believe to the ruthless and indiscriminate methods of destruc- tion employed by vessels in taking female seals in the open sea. I made the conditions of seal life a careful study for years, and I am firmly of the opinion their decrease in number W. 8. Hereford, p.36, On the Pribilof Islands is due wholly and entirely to hunting and killing them in the open sea. When, in 1886, we all saw the decrease of seals upon the hauling grounds and rookeries, we asked each other what Aggei Kushen, p. 128. Was the cause of it, but when we learned that white men were shooting seals in the water with guns we knew what was the matter; we knew that if they killed seals in the water that they must be nearly all females that were going out to feed, for the males stay on the islands until they get ready to go away in the fall or winter. It was among the cows we first noticed the de- crease, and as we never kill the cows on the islands we knew they must be killing them in the water. There can be no question, in my opinion, about the ultimate result to the rookeries of marine sealing. If it is con- Isaac Liebes, p. 455. tinued asit has been for the last two or three years the seals will be so nearly wiped out of existence in a short time as to leave nothing to quarrel about; and an article of commerce that has afforded a vast amount of comfort and satisfaction to a large class of wearers and a large income to both American and British merchants will be a thing of the past. Abial P. Loud, p. 38. Iam convineed that the decrease in the rook- eries was caused entirely by open-sea sealing. That there were no destructive agencies at work upon the island that would not have left the rookeries in better condition H. H. McIntyre, p. 46. 1890 than they were in 1870; that until the effects of the true agent of destruction began to be mani- fest there was an excess of male life on the islands sufticient to permit of an annual catch of 100,000 seals for an indefinite period without jeopardizing the rookeries; that if it be remembered that the seals taken in the water by hunters are chiefly females, that their young die with them and that all of those killed are not secured, and if then an examination be made of the pelagic skins actually sold during the past twenty years the real source of the depletion of the rookeries will be found ; that in my judgment such depletion was caused by pelagic seal- ing, and that it grew greater from year to year as the number of so- galled poaching schooners increased; and that its effects began to PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 309 manifest themselves about 1885 or 1886; that the depletion on both hauling and breeding grounds is accounted for by the fact that the catch of said pelagic sealers consists of at least 85 per cent cows ; that said cows when taken in the North Pacific are in the majority of cases with pups, and in Bering Sea are so-called milking females; that when- ever a milking cow is killed, her pup on the rookeries dies of starvation. In support of this fact last stated, the number of dead pups during the last four years I was upon the "islands increased annually ; that the effect of the comparatively few raids upon the rookeries themselves, while injurious, bear but a small ratio to the enormous damage done by the pelagic hunting. That those in charge of said islands did not when said decrease on said rookeries commenced know cone lusively the cause thereof ; that my opinion then that it was caused by pelagic sealing, but had been informed and believed that the United States Government intended to seize all such poaching vessels; that relying upon such information I authorized the taking of seals as before ; that such protection of seal life was not fully carried out in Bering Sea and the North Pacifie by reason of England’s interference, and that the rookeries were thus de- pleted. From statements made by such personal acquaintances and friends I became aware of a rapid decrease in seal life in Alaska, and reports of pelagic sealing,as made 4H. W. McIntyre, p. 138, public through the press, combined with previous personal knowledge of affairs as existing prior to 1882, leaves no pos- sible doubt as to the cause of such decrease of seals. Pelagic sealing as practiced prior to the year 1882 had no apparent effect upon seal life, and even when to this was added the taking of a definite number year after year under lease from the United States Government, there was still a constant increase of seals observed ; I am, therefore, fully con- firmed in the belief that the decrease in their numbers is due solely to the indiscriminate killing at sea of all ages, regardless of sex, as prac- ticed since 1884. He further stated that the seals had rapidly decreased since sealing vessels had appeared, but that before the inroads of these seal hunters there was no trouble in ob- John Malowansky, p. 199. taining the full quota of the best grades of skins, as the herds had previous to that time been noticeably increasing. Q. To what do you attribute the decrease in the number of seals on the rookeries?—A. To the great number of cows killed by poachers, and consequently less pups Anton Melovedoff, p.139, are born on the rookeries. Q. How do you know that cows have been killed by poachers?—A. I have handled and seen a great number of skins captured by the revenue cutters from the poaching vessels, and there were very few male skins among them; also have seen among them a great number of unborn pups. Twice upon the rookeries I have seen cows killed and left there by the poachers. I know of no other explanation than this: The cows are shot and killed when they go into the sea to feed and the Melovedoff, 0.144 pups die on the rookeries. This, [ think, is the sn true solution of the vexed question, ‘“‘ What has become of the seals?” 310 CAUSE. Since 1883, however, there is said to have occurred a very material diminution of the seal life on the Pribilof Islands, J. M. Morton, p.69. — due, as it is claimed, to a large and indiscriminate slaughter of these animals in the waters of Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The cause assigned for this loss is undoubt. edly the true one. If no other proof were forthcoming in relation to it the large display of dead pups on the rookeries would in itself furnish all the evidence required. Such diminution could not, in my opinion, be the result of the ordinary yearly slaughter for skins. It is shown that an appreciable expansion of the rookeries took place after twelve or fourteen years of such slaughter, and I think this fact conclusively demonstrates that the number of seals which the law permitted to be killed each year was not greater than the known conditions of the seal’s lite would safely warrant. From the experience gained and observations made during three killing seasons, from the information gleaned Jos. Murray, p. 74. from men who have devoted their lives to the practical side of the seal question, and from the books and reports in the Government offices on the islands, I am able to say that, in my opinion, there is only one great cause of the decrease of the fur seal, and that is the killing of the females by pelagic hunting. T believe this decrease is owing to the large number of vessels engaged in hunting the fur seal at sea and the indiserim- Arthur Newman, p.211. inate methods employed by these sealing vessels in taking skins. The practice of pelagic seal hunting was followed by the northwest coast Indians from their earliest history, but Gustave Niebaum, p.78. amounted to so little as to be inappreci iable on the islands. Even after white hunters engaged in it in a limited way our losses from this source were attributed to the marine enemies of the seals, and was so far overcome by the good man- agement on the islands as to permit the growth of the herd to continue so long as it was limited to a few vessels and confined to the vicinity of the’ Oregon, Washington, and British Columbian coasts. But even before anv considerable slaughter had taken place in the waters of Bering Sea, as early as 1882, it was noticed that the rookeries had stopped expanding, though they were treated in every way as they always had been. An examination of the London Catalogue of seal- skin sales shows that the “ Victoria catch” already ageregated a very considerable number of skins and now brings home the conviction that pelagic sealing, when confined almost wholly to the Pacific, is still a very dangerous enemy of seal life on the islands. After 1886 the force of pelagic hunters was greatly augmented, and became more and more e aggressive, and their field of operations widely extended, until they appeared in alarming numbers in Bering Sea in 1884 and 1885. In 1887 we were forced to commence taking “smaller skins in order to obtain our quota and preserve enough breeding bulls. In 1888 they were still smaller, while in 1889 more than half of them were such as we would not have killed in former years, and we called the attention of the Treasury Department to the evident diminution of seal life, and recommended that fewer seals be killed in future. There PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 311 can be no question as to the cause of the diminution. It is the direct result of pelagic sealing, and the same destruction, if continued a few years longer, will entirely dissipate any commercial value in the rook- eries, if it does not, indeed, annihilate them. In my opinion the solution of the problemis plain. Itis the shotgun and the rifle of the pelagic hunter which are so destructive to the cow seals as they go backwards — LZ. A. Noyes, p. 84. and forwards to the fishing banks to supply the waste caused by giving nourishment to their young. At this time they are destroyed by thousands, and their young of but a few weeks old must necessarily die of starvation, for nature has provided no other means of subsistence for them at this time of life. Q. How do you account for it?—A. By the J. C. Redpath, p. 140. numbers, principally females, that are killed in ° the waters by marauders. I saw no diminution of seal life during my three years on the island. The outlines of the rookeries remained just about the same from year to year. I was told at the Leon Sloss, p. 91. time that there had formerly been a large in- crease, and did not then understand why it did not continue, as every condition seemed favorable for it. There were, apparently, an abun- dance of bulls for service; every cow seemed to have a pup and all were healthy and in good condition. No females were killed, and in the natural order of “erowth there ought to have been at this time a con- stantly increasing area covered with br eeding rookeries. Yet such was not the case. The explanation of the matter came later when we fairly awoke to the fact that our animals were being slaughtered by tens of thousands in the North Pacific. 1 knew in a commercial way from our sales catalogue that a very large number of *“* Victoria skins,” as they were called, were being sent to market, and that this number grew constantly larger; but I did not then know, as I now do, that each skin sold represented a waste of two or three and perhaps even four or five seals to obtain it. Nor was any attention given to the now well-known fact that these animals were a part of our herd, as wrong: fully stolen from us, I believe, as my cattle would be if driven in and appropriated from the highway when lawfully feeding. Since my residence on the Pribilof Islands I have kept a very careful watch of the progress of events there, and have interviewed a great many connected with the seal W. B. Taylor, p. 177. industry. lam of the conviction that thereported decrease in seal life on these islands can be attributed to no other cause save pelagic sealing. While I was located at St. George Island in 1881 pelagic sealing was then and previous to that time had been of very little consequence, having very slight effect upon seal life. Not more than four or five vessels were e1 gaged i in pelagic sealing in 1881 in the waters of Bering Sea, and prior to that time a still fewer number were so engaged. But since 1881 this industry has grown yearly until now about a hundred vessels are destroying the seals in great numbers, and, as I am informed and believe, the great majority. of those killed are females. Then, too, large numbers are killed in this way which are never recovered nor reported. 3L2 CAUSE. Scarcity of seal can be attributed to no other cause than pelagic hunting and the indiscriminate shooting of seals Ino. C. Tolman, p. 222. in the open sea, both in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. I am sure the decrease is caused by the killing of female seals in the open sea, and that if their destruction by the in- Chas. T. Wagner, p. 212. discriminate killing in the open sea is permitted to continue it will only be a very short time until the herd will be entirely destroyed. And I have no doubt thatit is caused by the killing of female seals M. L, Washburn, . 489. in the water, and, if continued, will certainly end —— : in their extermination. I am convinced that if open-sea sealing had never been indulged in to the extent it has since 1885 or perhaps a year Dan'l Webster, p. 183. or two earlier, 100,000 male skins could have been taken annually forever from the Pribilof Islands without decreasing the seal herd below its normal size and condition. The cause of the decrease which has taken place can be accounted for only by open-sea sealing; for, until that means of destruction to seal life grew to be of such proportions as to alarm those interested in the seals, the seal herd increased, and since that time the decrease of the number of seals has been proportionate to the increase in the number of those engaged in open-sea sealing. From 1884 to 1891 I saw their numbers decline, under the same care- ful management, until in the latter year there was not more than one- fourth of their numbers coming to the islands. In my judgment there is but one cause for that decline and the present condition of the rook- eries, and that is the shotgun and rifle of the pelagic hunter, and it is my opinion that if the lessees had not taken a seal on the islands for the last ten years we would still find the breeding grounds in about the same condition as they are to-day, so destructive to seal life are the methods adopted by these hunters. Deponent, by reason of his experience in the business, his observa- tion, conversations with those physically engaged C. A. Williams, p.538. in catching and curing skins, and the custody of herds on the islands, feels justified in expressing the opinion that the numbers of the seal herds have, since the intro- duction of the open-sea sealing on a large seale, suffered serious diminu- tion. The killing of large numbers of females heavy with young can not, in deponent’s knowledge, but have that effect. Futhermore, I made careful inquiry of the people on the islands, both native and white, and of those who were or had W.H. Williams, p.93. been employed as masters or mates on’ sealing vessels, and others interested one way or another in the capture of fur-seals for food or for profit, and failed to find any of them but who admitted that the number of seals in the Bering Sea was much less now than a few years since, and nearly all of them gave it as their opinion that the decrease in number was due to pelagic hunt- ing, or, aS they more frequently expressed it, the killing of females in the water. PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 313 Opinions—Indian Hunters. Page 179 of The Case. Fur-seals were formerly much more plentiful, however, but of late years are becoming constantly scarcer. This is, we think, owing to the number of vessels engaged in hunting them at sea. Jno. Alexandrof et al., p. 229. Fur-seals were formerly observed in this neighborhood in great num- bers, but of late years they have been constantly diminishing, owing to the large number of seal- ing vessels engaged in killing them, Nicoli Apokchee et al., p. 224. I have noticed that seal have decreased very rapidly in the last three years, owing to too many schooners engaged in aro et, ese sealing along the coastof Alaska and Bering Sea. 44 4yonkee, p. 295. The seal are not near as plentiful as they used to be. The cause of the decrease is, I think, too many schooners hunt- ing them off Prince of Wales Island and around Maurice Bates, p. 277. Dixons Entrance. Seal are not as plentiful on the coast as they used to be. They have been decreasing very fast the last few years. think this is caused by the indiscriminate killing Wilton C. Bennett, p. 356. in the water. Seal are getting very scarce. I think the cause of the searcity is too many people hunting seal, 247d Benson, p. 277. Seals were very plenty in the straits and around the cape until about six years ago, when the white hunters came in schooners and with shotguns and commenced to Bowa-chup, p. 376. kill them all off, and now there is none in the straits, and we can not get but one or two where we used to get eight or ten. They are very shy and wild and are decreasing very rapidly. White hunters came in here about five or six years ago and com- menced shooting the seals with guns, since which time they have been rapidly decreasing, and are Peter Brown, p. 378. becoming very wild. When we hunt seals with Spears we creep upon them while asleep on the water and spear them. A few years ago my people would catch from eight to ten thousand seals each year; now we get only about one thousand or less. * * * Seals used to be very numerous along the coast about Cape Flattery, and no decrease was ever noticed in their numbers until soon after the white hunters came around here—about seven years ago—and com- menced shooting them. Since that time they have decreased fast and have become very shy. They were formerly much more plentiful than now, which is owing, we believe, to the number of nae PON EENa Be Ata vessels engaged in killing them at sea. Ss 314 CAUSE. Years ago seals were very plentiful from 5 to 10 miles from the shore. T could see them all around in bunches of from Charlie, p. 304. ten te twenty each, but since the white man has commenced to kill them with the rifle and shot- gun (in the last five or six years) they have decreased very rapidly. Fur-seals have decreased very rapidly during the last five years, and Vassili Chichinoff et al., W& believe it is due tothe large number of vessels p. 219. engaged in hunting them at sea. Have noticed the seal are decreasing very fast the last four years; too many schooners are hunting them in the open S. Chin-koo-tin, p. 257. waters of the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. The last five years fur-seal have been growing very scarce, and it is hard to get any now. There are too many white William Clark, p. 293. men with schooners hunting them off Dixons En- trance, and unless it is stopped the seal will soon be all gone. . Seals are now very searce and wild along the coast. I believe the : 2 cause of this is that white hunters have been hunt- eS Tit, 2 BEL. ing them so much with guns. Seals used to be very plentiful, and I never noticed any decrease in their number until white hunters commenced com- Jas. Claplanhoo, p. 382. ing here and killing them with guns, about six or seven years ago. Since that they have decreased very rapidly and have got very shy. Our tribe used to have no diffi- culty in catching 8,000 to 10,000 seals, and now we can not get a thou- sand. T have been out sealing on the coast this spring in a schooner that carried ten canoes, with two hunters to each canoe. Jeff. Davis, p. 384. We were out three days and caught 5 seals. If we had been out that long six or eight years ago with the same crew, we would have taken between 60 and 100 seals. Seals are wild and shy now, and have become very scarce. I think the reason for this is that they have been hunted so much by white hunters who use firearms. Some years ago the fur-seal were plenty off the islands, but since the schooners have hunted them they are nearly all Eshon, p. 280. gone and it is hard for the Indians of this village to get any. Seals are not so plentiful now as they were a few years ago. They began to decrease about five or six yearsago. A Ellabush, p. 385. good many years ago I used to capture seals in the Straits of San Juan de Fuea, but of late years, since so many schooners and white men have come around here shoot- ing with guns, that only a few come in here and we do not hunt in the straits any more. I used to catch forty or fifty seals in one day, and now if I get six or seven L would have great luck. Ihave to goa long distance “to get seals now. Seals are wild and afraid of an Indian. PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 315 They have become so since the white man and the trader began to shoot them with shotguns and rifles. In a short time there will be no seals left for the Indian to kill with the spear. Fur-seals were formerly much more numerous than of late years, and are each year becoming constantly scarcer. I believe this decrease is due to the number of — Vassili Feodor, p. 230. vessels which are engaged in hunting them at sea. And when I was a young man there were lots of seals around Queen Charlotte Islands, but now they have become searce. The last few times I was out after them = Frank, p. 293. I did not see a seal. They have been growing scarcer every year since the white man began hunting them in schoon- ers. Fur-seal are not as plenty as they used to be, and it is hard for the Indians tocatch any. I think there are too many white men in schooners hunting seals around Dix- — Chief Frank, p. 280. ons Entrance, Since the white men have been hunting the seal with schooners they have becomevery scarce, and = Luke Frank, p, 294. itis hard for the Indians to get any in their canoes. Seal have decreased on the coast very fast the last four years. The reason of the decrease is too much hunting and ae ick indiscriminate killing. EGER ES Dp The seal are becoming very scarce, caused, I Chas. Gibson, p. 281. think, by the white men hunting them too much. Seal are becoming very scarce this last three or four years and Indian hunters can hardly kill them now. Too many schooners are hunting seal, and Indian hunters — Gonastut, p. 238. have to go a long way in their canoes in order to get any, and they seldom kill one. Have noticed that seals are decreasing the last four years, caused, I think, by too many white men hunting seal in Jas. Gondowen, p. 259. the waters of the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Fur-seals have decreased in numbers of late years, and we believe it is due principally to the large number of vessels —Nicoli Gregoroff et al., hunting them at sea. p. 234, The seal are not nearly as plentifulas they once Henry Haldane, p. 2 were, and I think they are hunted too much by schooners. Seals are not as plentiful now as they were before white men com- menced hunting them with guns around here some Six or seven years ago. They are more shy now Alferd Irving, p. 387. and it is much more difficult for the hunters to creep up and spear them than it was a few years ago. 316 CAUSE. Years ago we could see seals all over the water. They are not so plentiful now. They have been growing less and Ishka, p. 388. less ever since the white man came in and began to hunt them with guns, about six or seven years ago, and so many vessels went into the business. My idea is that there are too many camp-fires around on the coast of Alaska that scares the seal out to sea. The seal Jack Johnson, p. 282. Smell the smoke and won’t come near the land; and there are a large number of people shooting seal, which scares them away also. Johnnie Johnton, p. 283. _ There are too many schooners hunting seal off Prince of Wales Island, and it is hard for In- dians to get any in canoes. P. Kahiktday, p. 261. Have noticed that seal are decreasing very fast the last few years along the coast, caused, L think, by pelagic hunting. * * Think the seals are most all killed by. the Aaa seal hunters in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean, so far from the land that the Indian hunters have no chance to get any in canoes, as he only goes a short distance from the shore. Saml. Kahoorof,p.214. Do not know why the numbers of the fur seals seen about these islands are now less than in for- mer years. Plitin Raskevar I think the seal are about as plentiful along this 262 ep Aaa coast, but much more scarce farther west. The cause of this scarcity is too much pelagic hunting. When I was a young man the seal were very plentiful around here, but since the schooners began hunting them they King Kaskwa, p. 295. have become very scarce. The white hunter de- stroyed the sea-otter and will soon destroy the seal. I don’t like to see the schooners around here hunting seal, for they kill everything they see, and unless they are stopped the seal will soon be all gone. The sea otter is already gone. Seals have been growing scarce the last five years, since the white man began hunting them with schooners, and if Jim Kasooh, p. 296. they are not stopped the seal will soon be all gone. Seal have decreased very rapidily along this coast in the last three or four years. The decrease is caused, I think, by Mike Kethusduck,p.262. schooners using shotguns and rifles and killing mostly female seals. Kinkooga, p. 240. The reason of the scarcity is, I think, that there are too many white hunters sealing in the open waters. Seal are becoming very scarce on the coast. The reason they are becoming so scarce is that hunters shoot them O. Klananeck, p. 263. with guns and kill cows with pup. PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. Sie Seal used to be plentiful, but now they are nearly all gone. They are too. much hunted by the white men with ee he schooners. Jas. Kloracket, p. 283. Seal have become very scarce the last three years, and what few there are are very wild and hard to get at. I think the reason that seal have become scarce is Robert Kooko, p. 296. that they are hunted too much and too many females killed with pup. Have noticed that seal are decreasing very fast the last few years. I think the cause of the decrease is that there are too many schooners hunting seal in Bering Sea Jno. Kowineet, p. 264. and along the North Pacific coast. Seal are not nearly as plentiful as in former years; have noticed the decrease in the last three or four years. Think the cause of the decrease is the great number of — Geo. Lacheek, p. 265. schooners sealing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Seals are not nearly so plentiful now as they used to be. About seven years ago white men commenced to hunt seals in this vicinity with guns, since which time — Jas. Lighthouse, p. 389. they have been decreasing in numbers and have become wild and hard to catch. * * * Seals are not so plentiful and are more shy than they used to be, and are more difficult to catch, because they have been hunted so much for the last five or six years with guns. White hunters, in numbers, commenced to hunt them around Cape Flattery, with guns, about six years ago, and since that that time the seals have decreased very — Thos. Lowe, p. 371. rapidly. Since the white man with schooners has been hunting seal they have been growing scarcer every year, and unless they are stopped the seal will soon be all gone. The Chas. Martin, p. 297. Indians now have to go a long way and sutter great hardships in order to get any. After careful inquiry among our oldest people and weighing my own experience and observations, I believe the de- crease of the Alaskan fur-seal is due altogether to gs, Melovidov, p. 147. pelagic hunting. Since the schooners have commenced to hunt seal they are becoming ; y S very scarce and the Indians have to goa long ways ass to get the few that they do. Matthew Morris, p. 286, Years ago seals were much more plentiful than they are now, and I could see them all around in bunches on the water, but since the white man came here and com- doses, p. 309. menced to kill them with the rifle and the shot- Bun, within the last five or six years, they have rapidly decreased in number, i CAUSE. When I was a young man seal were very plentiful off Prince of Wales Island and Dixons Entrance, but since the Nashtou, p. 298. schooners have begun hunting seal they have be- come very scarce, and Indians now are obliged to go a long ways to kill any, and sometimes they will hunt for days” with- out getting a seal. Since the white men with schooners began to hunt seal, the last five or Six years, seals have become very scarce, and Smith Natch, p. 298. itis hard for the Indians to get any now. They have to go a long way and hunt a long time in or- der to get one or two seals. The last four or five years seal have been growing scarcer every year, owing, [ think, to too many white men hunting seals Dan Nathlan, p.286. in schooners off Queen Charlotte Islands and in Dixons. I think the reason of the seal becoming so scarce is that there are too many white men hunting seal in the Nechantake, p. 241. Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean and it should be stopped. Seal are not near as plenty as they used to be; too many hunters are Jas. Neishkaitk, p.287. catching them and indiscriminately killing them. When I was a young man seals were much more plentiful than they are now. The last three years, since the schoon- Nikla-ah, p. 288. ers began hunting seals, they have become very scarce. It is hard for the indians to get any now, and this year they have killed but two. The Indian fur-seal hunters of my people all tell me that the fur-seal are becoming very scarce. Too many white men Peter Olsen, p. 288. are killing them all the time, and they kill cows with pup as well as other kinds. I am the chief of my people, and they all tell me what they know. Seal are getting very scarce along the coast, Rondtus, p. 242. caused by the indiscriminate slaughter of seals in the open waters. Have noticed the seal are getting scarce the last few years. The ee sini cause of the se cateity is, | think, top many schoon- lat ah 3 dea ers hunting them off Prince of Wales Island. Since the schooners have hunted seal off the Prince of Wales Island the seals have become scarce, and it is hard for the Jack Shnoky, p. 289. Indians to get any in canoes. In former times they used to get plenty. The disappearance of the fur-seal is due to the killing by pelagic seal- hunters, who appear in large numbers off this Alexander Shyha,p. 226, part of the coast, and the scarcity of the fur-seals is in proportion to the number of vessels engaged in seal-hunting. PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 319 Seal have becomevery scarce the last few years. Martin Singay, p. 268. Too many white men are engaged in killing seal. Have noticed a large decrease in seal the last Jack Sitka, p. 269. three years, caused, | think, by pelagic sealing in Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Since the white man has been hunting seal with schooners they have become very scarce, and Indians are obliged to go a long way and stop away from home along Thomas Skowl, p.300. time in order to get any, and after being away there four or five days they frequently return without killing one seal, they have become so scarce. There areno seal left now; they are most all killed off. The last ten years the seal have been decreasing very fast, ever since the white men with schooners began to = Geo. Skultka, p. 290. hunt them. Seal have been growing scarce along the coast the last four years. Think there are too many schooners engaged in : A ° = 4 : M. Thlkal alk ; sealing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering o¢9°~" alae 4 Sea. Have noticed a large decrease the last four years. I think that pelagic seal hunting in Bering Sea is the cause the seal Charli tan, p. becoming scarce along the coast. Se Set? Have heard all the Indians of different tribes say that seal are be- coming very scarce in the last three or four years. They also say thatunless theschoonersarestopped Twongkwak, p. 246. from sealing in Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean the seal will all be gone, and none will be left for the Indians or anyone else. The seal have become so scarce of late years that I don’t know much about them. During the last five or six years seals have decreased in numbers very rapidly. A great many of the white men are poor hunters, and lose a great many of the — John Tysum, p. 394. seals that they shoot. They shoot, and shoot, and shoot, and don’t get any seals, and that makes them wild, so that an Indian can’t get near them with a spear. Have noticed the seal have been decreasing along the coast the last four years. Think the cause of the decrease is that there are too many schooners engaged in Jas. Unatajim, p. 272. pelagic sealing in Bering Sea. Last year was a very bad season. The Indians think scarcity of seals is due to the method of hunting them adopted by the whites, by which the seals are scared Francis Verbeke, p. 311, away. Have noticed the seal are decreasing very fast, particularly the last four years, caused by the indisc riminate kill- ing of seal in the waters of the North Pacific Charlie Wank, p. 273. Ocean and Bering Sea, 320 CAUSE. So many schooners and white men are hunting Watkins, p. 395. them with guns all along the coast that they are getting all killed off. Formerly the Indians hunted them for food, but nowadays white men ; ? and Indians hunt them for their fur, and they are Weckenunesch, p. 311. yanidly diminishing in number. Seal were always plenty in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca and along the coast until the white hunter came here and Charley White, p. 396. commenced shooting them some six or eight years ago. Since that time they have decreased very rapidly. Billy Williams, p. 301. | Seal are becoming very scarce since the white men began hunting them in schooners. Fred. Wilson, p. 301. Seals have become scarce the last three or four years, and the cause of it is, I think, the indis- criminate killing of seals in the water. Seals are not near so plentiful as they were seven or eight years ago. I think the cause of this is that they have been Wispoo, p. 397. hunted so much by white hunters, who use shot- guns and rifles. Have noticed the seal are decreasing very fast, owing to so many Michael Wooskort, p. Schooners hunting seals in the waters of the North 275. Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. The seal, like the sea-otter, are becoming very scarce. I think if the schooners were prohibited from taking seal in Yahkah, p. 246. Bering Sea and along the coast of Alaska, the seal would become plentiful and the Indians could kill them once more in canoes. Since the white men with schooners began to hunt seal off Prince of : 7 Wales Island the seal have become very scarce oa ethnow, P- and unless they are stopped from hunting seal ; they will soon be all gone. If the white men are permitted to hunt seal much longer the fur-seal will become as scarce as the sea-otter, which were quite plenty around Dixons Entrance when I was a boy. The Indians are obliged to go a long way for seal now and often return after two or three days’ hunt without taking any. Seal have been disappearing very rapidly the last few years, and it is hard for our people to get them. There are Paul Young, p. 292. too many white men hunting them with schoon- ers off Prince of Wales Island. Walter Young, p. 303. Since the white man began to hunt seal they are becoming very scarce, PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. ool Within the last five or six years seals have decreased in number very fast and are becoming very shy, and it is difficult to creep upon them and hit them with the spear, Hish Yulla, p. 398. Years ago, the heads of seals along the coast would stick up out of the water almost as thick as the stars in the heavens, but since the white man, with so many schooners, have come and began to shoot and kill them with the guns they have become very scarce. If so many white hunters keep hunting the seal Thos. Zolnoks, p. 399, with shotguns as they do now, it will be but a short time before they will all be gone. Opinions.— White sealers, Page 181 of The Case. I have noticed a perceptible and gradual decrease in seal life for the past few years and attribute it to the large num- 4, 4.¢) Anderson p.217 ber of vessels engaged in hunting them at sea. ona In the sea seals are much more timid and make off as fast as possi- ble at the approach of a vessel, while formerly they were usually quite curious, and would sport and C. H. Anderson, p. 206. play about the vessel whencome up with. I believe this decrease and timidity is due to the indiscriminate slaughter of the seals by pelagic sealers. Q. To what do you attribute that decrease?— = Geo. Ball, p. 483. A. [attribute the decrease to the indiscriminate slaughter of the seals. I believe that the decrease in fur-seal life, which has been constant of late years, is due principally to the number of 7 4 pradte y, pe 227. vessels engaged in hunting them at sea. Seven or eight years ago, when seals were hunted almost wholly by Indians with spears, a vessel hunting in the vicin- ity of Cape Flattery was sure of getting several MVilliam Brennan, p. 360. hundred skins in about three months, from March to the end of May, but at the present time a vessel is doing well if she gets a much smaller number, because the skins bring much higher prices. The records of “ catches” in the last three or four years will confirm any person who examines them in the belief that the seals are decreasing in the Pacific Ocean on the American side. I have no reason to doubt that it is the same on the Russian side. At present they are hunted vigorously, and with better methods than formerly. The hunters have had more experience and understand their habits better, but notwith- standing this the catches are decreasing off the coast. Seals were not nearly as numerous in 1887 as they were in 1877, and itis my belief that the decrease in numbers is due to the hunting and killing of female seals in the Jas. L. Carthcut, p. 409. water. 21BS8S 322 CAUSE. Have noticed that seal are becoming very scarce on the coast the last few years. The cause of the scarcity of the seal, Peter Church, p. 257. J think, is that too many schooners in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, and the indis- criminate killing of females with pup in the water. Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as com- pared to the previous years?—A. I think there Daw’l Claussen, p. 412. has, Q. If there is a decrease, to what do you attribute it?—A. To the killing and hunting of them by seal hunters. I think the indiscriminate killing of seals in Be- Jno. C. Clement, p. 258. ring Sea is the cause of their scarcity along the coast. There were not nearly as many seals to be found in 1889 as there were in 1888. I think the decrease is caused by Peter Collins, p. 413. the great destruction of females killed in the sea by the hunters. Leander Cox, p. 417. I attribute this decrease [of the seal herd] to the terrible slaughter of female seals now going on in the sea. There can be but one cause for the scarcity of seal, and that is the indiscriminate killing of them in the water, and Wm. Duncan, p. 279. unless that is stopped the seal must soon be ex- terminated. The sea-otter, which were plentiful on this coast at one time, are now scarcely seen at all, and the indis- criminate slaughter of them in the water has almost entirely extermi- nated the animal, Some few remain in the far north, but they are very hard to secure. Until hunting and killing was commenced by hunters in the open sea I observed no appreciable decrease in the M. C. Erskine, p. 422. number arriving, which was about 1884. In my opinion the chasing of the seals and the shooting of them has a tendency to frighten them and disturb them and pre- vents their increasing as they would if they were left undisturbed in the waters. The large decrease of seals in the waters of the ocean and sea must unquestionably be caused by the indiscriminate M. C. Erskine, p.423. killing now going on by poaching schooners, and if not discontinued it will most certainly be a matter of a very few years before the seals will be exterminated. The seals have most decidedly decreased in number, caused by the continual hunting and killing in the open I, F. Feeny, p. 220. 8 = P sea. I give them four years more, and if they keep on hunting them as they do now, there will be no more seals lett eo. Fogel, p. 424. ; : made Heger, 2 worth going after. * * * PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 323 I attribute the decrease in numbers to their being hunted so much. My experience is that the seal herds in the North Pacific and Bering Sea have been greatly depleted within the last few years by the con- stant pursuit and killing of them in the water by hunters. In my opinion, seals and all other fur-bearing animals are decreasing, and the cause is pelagic William Foster, p. 220. hunting. Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals ascompared to previous years?—A, I have not been on the islands in the last few yesrs, but I should imag- Luther 7. Franklin, p. 426. ine there has been a great decrease. Q. To what do you attribute the decrease?—A. To the number of vessels that are up there engaged in killing seals, nearly all of which are females. Last year there were 72 vessels fitted out from Victoria alone, to say nothing of vessels that are fitted out at other places. The seals are not so numerous off Cape Flattery as they used to be some years ago, and it is my opinion it is owing “ TI Frazer, p. 365. to the constant hunting by so many schooners. A ia E i Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as compared to previous years?—A. There is a decrease of Edward W. Funcke, p. about 20 or 30 per cent less. 428. Q. To what do you attribute that decrease?—A. I attribute it to them being overhunted. I am decidedly of the opinion that fur-seal life has considerably de- creased of late years, and believe it is due princi- 4. J. Guild, p. 232. pally to pelagic sealing. While at anchor off St. Paul Island the pups playing about the ves- sel were very few, and while making a passage between Unalaska and the Pribilotf Islands, dur- Charles J. Hague, p. 208. ing the breeding season, did not see a dozen in the open sea during the whole trip, where formerly I met hundreds. In going from Unalaska to Atka and returning during the last of May and the first part of June of this year (1892), I did not see a single fur- seal in the water. I attribute this great decrease to the indiscriminate slaughter of the species by pelagic sealers, and their wasteful methods of securing skins. Q. To what do you attribute this decrease?—A. 4H. Harmsen, p. 442 Too many in the business, I suppose; too many after them. ; Q. Would you attribute it to the killing of the females and thereby there are not nearly as many born?—A. Certainly; it has got all to do with it. Q. Then really the killing of the females you attribute to the de- crease?—A. Yes, sir. Lam decidedly of the opinion that the decrease in numbers of seals in the North Pacific and Bering Sea is owing to pelagic hunting, and that unless discontinued they J. I. Hays, p. 27. will soon become so nearly extinct as to be worth- Jess for commercial purposes. 324 CAUSE. I think the seals are not near as plenty as a few years ago, and they are much more shy and harder to catch now than Jas. Hayward, p. 328. they were when I first went out sealing. I think this is caused by hunting them so much with guns. Wm. Henson, p. 484. Q. If there is a decrease, to what do youattrib- ute it?—A. I attribute it to the extermination by inexperienced hunters. Seals are not as plentiful now as they were a few years ago. I think they are decreasing on account of their being Wm. Hermann, p. 446. }yynted so much. I have not personally noticed. any decrease in the numbers of the fur-seal species, but I think that the constant Norman Hodgson, p. and indiscriminate slaughter of them must tend 367. largely to that end. Q. If there is a decrease, to what do you attribute it?—A. To the Andrew J. Hoffman, p. ®ount of seal hunters and hunting that is actu- 447. ally going on. Seals have decreased very fast the last three years. The decrease is caused, I think, by the indiscriminate killing of Me ‘sta . 260. aan ? seid tei ed seals in the water. Gustave Isaacson, p. Q. To what do you attribute the cause?—A. 440. Killing off the females; whale-killers and sharks kill a good many. Frank Johnson, p. 441. Q. To what do you attribute the cause of this decrease?—A. The increase of the fleet and kill- ing of all the females. My knowledge being from long experience, is that the seals are be- coming gradually scarcer in the northern waters, Jas. Kiernan, p.450. particularly so in later years. The cause of this decrease I believe to be the indiscriminate slaugh- ter of the mother seals. They are hunted too much, and hence mother seals are becoming scarcer, which, if not checked, will lead to their early extermination. He also told me, from his own knowledge, that the Uchuckelset In- 2 dians had a few years ago caught off the coast enone fi. King-Hall, 1 600 seals in a season, and that now they could aha eatch hardly any; that the white men’s guns were not only destroying the seals, but driving them further from the coast. In my opinion, fur-seal life has not only enormously decreased in numbers since 1886, but it has become greatly Jas. E. Lennan, p.370. scattered, and grown wilder and more timid, for- saking many places where they were formerly to be found at certain seasons of the year engaged in feeding. This I at- tribute to the large number of vessels engaged in killing fur-seals in- discriminately at sea. PELAGIC SEALING THE SOLE CAUSE—OPINIONS. 325 If they keep on hunting them in the Bering Sea and the North Pa- cific in the same way they have done in the last few years, they will exterminate them in the same — Caleb Lindahl, p. 456. way, because most all the seals killed are females. The young ones will all die, and every female seal you shoot makes the killing of two, because after the seal has given birth to her young the pup will starve to death on the land, or when you shoot them in the water they may have a pup inside. I have observed a very great decrease in fur-seal life since 1885, and believe it is almost entirely due to the large num- AS ber of vessels engaged in pelagic hunting. He Ve TAN oNts Deo" The seals are much less plentiful the last year [ sealed than the first. I attribute this decrease to the hunting of them in the water, and the increased number of boatsand Wm. H. Long, p. 458. men engaged in the business in the last few years. Q. Has there been any decrease in the quantity of seals as compared to previous years?—A. There has been a decrease. Q. To what do you attribute the decrease?—A. Chas. Lutjens, p. 459. To the hunting of the seals in the Bering Sea. There can be but one reason for the decrease, and that is they are hunted too much inthe open J, D. McDonald, p. 266. waters. There were not as many seals in 1890 as there were in 1889. I think there are so many boats and hunters out after them that they are being killed off. They are Wm. MclIsaac, p. 461. hunted too much. Seals are not as plentiful on the coast as formerly. Have noticed the decrease in the last three years; caused, I think, by the indiscriminate killing of female seal. MEP ED Ha 2O Ke I was also cod fishing in 1884. There were a great many more seals in the water then thanthere was in 1889. In 1884, : when we were cod fishing, we met the steam Pes m. MeLaughiin, «p. whaler Thrasher, and I heard the captain remark =~ that it was a damned shame the way they were killing the female seals in the Bering Sea. Q. To what do you attribute this decrease?—A. I think this is on account of killing those female seals when they have pups, and the business is getting so that so Faas setae at many vessels are going into it, and they are kill- — ~ ing those pups off. A seal has not got a chance to go to work and in- crease. (. The mother seals?—A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of animals in the last few years?—A. Yes, sir. @. To what do you attribute the cause?—A. Danl. McLean, p. 444. Killing off the females, 526 CAUSE. L have given up th> sealing business because the slaughtering of the > female seals is making them so scarce that it does Jas. Maloy, p. 463, not pay. I think seals are not as plentiful as they used G. E. Miner, p. 466. to be, caused, I think, by the indiscriminate kill- ing of females with pup. Q. To what do you attribute that decrease?— Frannk Morreau, p. 468. A. From the killing of seals, both by hunters and others. Deponent further says that he thinks that the decrease in the num- ber of seals found in the rookeries and the inerease 1. F. Morgan, p.65. in the number of dead pups are caused directly by the open-sea sealing commonly called poaching. Iam not able to say whether the seal herd is decreasing, but it is reasonable to suppose that where they are hunted Nelson T. Oliver, p. 372. and harassed at all times by so many hunters they are sure to be driven from their usual haunts, if not totally destroyed. Seals were not as plentiful in 1886 as they were in 1885, I think the principal cause of that decrease is on account of Niles Nelson, p. 470. killing the females in the water, and also through their getting shy by being chased by the boats. Since the use of rifles and shotguns has be- Wm. Parker, p. 345¢ come common, seals are much less in numbers and are more shy and timid. Seals are not near as plentiful as when I went out in 1888, and I eet believe the decrease is due to their being hunted dwin P. Porter, p. 347. 59 much with shotguns and rifles. I know that the seals are rapidly decreasing, Adolphus Sayers, p.473, and I believe itis caused by killing females in the water. I took very great interest in the seals, because I used to hunt them myself, and I noticed a great decrease in the num- Jas. Sloan, p.477. ber of seals from what there was formerly, when I was on sealing voyages. It was, in fact, so marked that I called the captain’s attention to it, saying that we had seen very few seals. They have been getting scarcer every year since I have been going to Bering Sea, and if something is not done right away to protect them there will be no more seals in these waters. I know as a fact that they are killing them indiscriminately, and all the hunters care about it is to get a skin. I know something about it, as IL have been sailing from this coast up along those waters for nineteen years, and, as I said before, I paid particular attention to them, and I firmly believe, if they allow the killing in the sea to go on as they are now doing, it will only be a question of a few years before there will not be enough to pay any one to hunt them. : INCREASE OF SEALING FLEET. 327 I think the seals are decreasing in number all the time, because there are more vessels out hunting after them and are sats rus Stephens, p. 480. killing off the female seals. a ti a Q. If there is a decrease, to what do you attribute it?—A. On ac- count of so much extermination and hunting by Gq esare sun feat aie: the seal-hunters. I have heard that seal have been decreasing the WW. Thomas, p. 485. last few years, caused, I think, by pelagic sealing. The decrease, [I think, is caused by the indis- Rudolph Watson, p. 272. eriminate killing of female seals. From what I know seals have been decreasing very fast in recent years. Think the decrease is caused by the in- discriminate killing in the North Pacific Ocean P, §. Weittenheller, p. 274. and Bering Sea. My experience is that the seals have been decreasing in numbers for the last six or seven years, and within the past two or three years very rapidly, owing to the in- Michael White, p. 490. discriminate killing of them by pelagic hunters and vessels engaged in that business in the waters’ of the North Pa- cific and Bering Sea. INCREASE OF SEALING FLEET, Page 183 of The Case. Pelagic sealing as an industry is of recent origin and may be said to date from 1879. In 1880, according to the official reportof the Canad‘an Ministerof Marineand Fish- Reportof American Com- eries, 7 vessels and 213 men were engaged in pe- missioners, p. 371 of The lagic sealing in the North Pacific, securing 13,600 “* skins, valued at $163,200. The same authority states that in 1886 20 vessels and 459 men secured 38,907 skins, valued at $389,070. In 1891 the number of United States and Canadian vessels had increased to over 100; upwards of 2,000 men were engaged, and more than 62,000 skins were secured. The number of seal-skins actually recorded as Reportof American Com- sold as a result of pelagic sealing is shown in the (one’s P- 366 of The following table: Case. No. of No. of . No. of Year apa Year aie Year. Sen ITP ae Se eee TOQ9UN MIC 79 cee ossscecsaces ast) 12350043 | W886i sce ee once 38, 907 G7 Sep eee Steere ee eee SBOP ae see. seeks 13, 600 1K} 5) spa dane need Nr i | 33,800 NB due tee tee Sone ARO4ON GST och aoe sone 135540 W888 ccc cechecscences| 87,789 1S (ote + saree - wa. | 7 .— - : - a ' - — a “ 7-7 _ 9 7 rm = 7. . = : 7 - a - =—- en aT De ttn 7 - 7 7 — ‘1 PELAGIC SEALING. HISTORY. SEALING BY COAST INDIANS, Page 187 of The Case. Formerly, in the winter time, used to hunt them in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca, and in the spring and summer time we hunted them in canoes and with spears from Peter Brown, p. 377. 10 to 30 miles off and around Cape Flattery. About ten or twelve years ago we commenced carrying our canoes on little schooners and followed up along the coast towards Kadiak. I have been a part owner in a schooner for about seven years, and have owned the James G. Swan for about three years. She is about 59 tons burden. The other schooner was not so large. * * * In early times none of my tribe ever went any farther out to sea than from 10 to 30 miles off Cape Flattery, and close inshore a few miles up and down the coast. They had no other way of hunting, except to go from here in canoes. About fifteen years ago the post trader induced some of them to put their canoes on board of a small schooner and go out from 50 to 75 miles offshore, and to hunt along the coast from Columbia River to Barclay Sound. In the last five or six years some of my tribe have bought and now own four little schooners, and use them to carry their canoes and provisions when they go any distance from home. About seventeen of my people have been in the Bering Sea, and, with the possible exception of two or three, none of them were ever there before 1887. In 1887 the British schooner Alfred Adams, from Victoria, British Columbia, came here and employed some of my tribe to go to the Bering Sea hunting seals, and the schooner Lottie, owned by the Indians, also went from here in that year. In 1889 and 1891 some of my people went on schooners, as hunters, to Bering Sea. At no other times have any of them been in those waters, I have been engaged in hunting seals all my life, and have always used the spear, and went in canoes. Formerly we went around the cape in canoes, but for the last Landes Callapa, p.379. fifteen years I have frequently gone out on smail schooners, from 10 to 80 miles around the cape, up and down the coast from 100 to 200 miles. Wetake our canoes on the vessel and use them after we get to the sealing grounds. 331 BP Pe HISTORY. In early times, and until within the last ten years, I hunted seals with spears in canoes. During the last ten years Circus Jim, p. 380. J have been sealing up and down the coast in schoouers, but used spears all of the time. When we used canoes exclusively I used to hunt and capture seals about 30 miles in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. * * I used to be out on the water hunting seals in a canoe for a couple of days at a time, if the weather was fine. Three Indians would go in one canoe. One would handle the spear, the other two would paddle and steer the boat. Iwas the spearman. Usually we found several seals at a time asleep on the water and would creep upon them, some- times as near as 20 feet, but more frequently not closer than 40 to 50 feet. I would then throw the spear at them and almost always secure all that [ hit. Very rarely I would hit and secure two seals at a time. I would then get a seal on each barb of the spear. We use smaller canoes now since we began to use schooners in which to carry our canoes and hunters to the sealing waters, and but two Indians go in one of these smaller canoes. In my early years { hunted seals in canoes and with spears in the Straits of San Juande Fuca, and about 80 miles Jas. Claplanhoo, p. 381. off Cape Flattery. I killed seals for food and for their skins, getting about $3 apiece for each skin. About fifteen years ago Willie Gallick, who had a trading post here, had three or four S HROntnE: and employed Indians to go “sealing and sail his vessels. They would put their canoes and spears on board the schooners and go out and hunt about 20 or 30 miles off the coast, as far south as the Columbia River and north to Barclay Sound. A few years later some of the Indians owned, or partly, an interest in the schooners. About six years ago the British schooner Alfred Adams came here, and her master engaged Indian hunters to go sealing in the Bering Sea. Also used to hunt seals in canoes up and down the coast from Cape Flattery. In those days there were a great many Jeff Davis, p. 384. seals along the coast. They traveled in little herds of from ten to fifteen each, and we could sometimes creep up on them when they were asleep on the water and spear one or two before they got away. We usually secured all that we hit with the spear. About 10 or 12 years ago we began to hunt seals in schooners, and ventured farther out in the ocean and sealed for greater distances up and down the coast. I have sealed as far south as the Columbia River and as far up the coast as the north end of Vancouver Island. I commenced sealing in canoes along the coast and in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca, about fifteen years ago, and Ellabush, p. 385. have always hunted seals with spears until re- eently. Three Indians usually go with each canoe. About ten years ago I went hunting in the schooner Mist, owned by a white man. We cruised for seals along the coast, between the Colum- bia River and Barclay Sound. Formerly my tribe hunted in canoes and used spears exclusively, but in the last two years a few of them have used shot- AlferdIrving, p. 386. guns. Previous to about ten years ago we sel- dom went more than 20 miles out to sea and sealed SEALING BY COAST INDIANS. Bao about that distance off Cape Flattery. Since that time some of our tribe have owned three or four small schooners, and those that go out in them put their canoes and spears on the schooners and are carried from 50 to 75 miles off Cape Flattery and along the coast from Columbia River to Barclay Sound. In the earlier years when I went hunting we would not go out of the Straits of San Juan de Fuca during the winter months and early in the spring. In former years we used to hunt in the Straits of San Juan de Fuca, and in the summer around Cape Flattery, but for the last few years we have had co go farther to — Selwish Johnson, p. 388. get them, and now we hunt from Columbia River to Barclay Sound. Weput our canoesand spears on board of a schooner, and go out from 10 to 60 miles off Cape Flattery. The idea of capturing seals in the water, when they are farther off shore than the Indian canoes can safely follow them, originated in San Francisco. of them were females. Q. What percentage of the skins you have taken were cows?—A. About 90 per cent. Jihn Fyfe, p. 429. We caught about 160 seals before entering the sea. Over 100 of them were cows. And eaught 1,400 seals on that voyage. We caught some a little ways from Victoria, and on the way up to the Ber- Geo. Grady, p. 433. ing Sea, but the most of them, about 1,200, we caught in the Bering Sea. I was told by the men that they were nearly all females, and I thought so too, from the milk that I saw in their breasts when they were on the deck. I saw over a hundred little pup seals taken out of the seals, which they threw over- board. W.P. Grigith, p. 260. To the best of his knowledge and belief about seven of every ten seals killed in pelagic sealing are females. Females are most plentiful about the Vancouver coast from the mid- dle of May to the end of June, very few others be- A. J. Guild, p. 231. ing secured during that period, the males having mostly gone north previously. Q. What sex are the seals taken by you or usually killed by hunting vessels in the North Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. i HH, Hagman, p. Mostly females. The biggest percentage, I think, ; are females. Q. What percentage of them are cows?—A. I couldn’t tell you. Q. Out of a hundred seals that you would catch ordinarily, what part of them would be cows?—A. I am under oath, and I could not tell you exactly. All I can say is, the greater portion of them. Think the seals taken by me have been about equally divided between females and males. Have taken a number of Henry Haldane, p.281. yearling seals and some two and three year old males. Have never killed an old bull. TESTIMONY OF PELAGIC SEALERS. 495 Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you or usually killed by hunt- ing vessels in the North Pacific and Bering Sea?—- A. Cows altogether; nothing but cows. Imnever 4. Harmsen, p. 442. caught a bull in my life and I have got about 10,000 of them. Q. Do you know of what sex the seals were that you have taken in the Pacific and Bering Sea?—A. Two-thirds of them are females. Wm. Henson, p. 483. Q. What percentage of the skins you have taken were cows?—A, Two-thirds, I should say. Q. Do you know of what sex the seals were that you have taken in the Pacific and Bering Sea?—A. The seals that : I have taken were principally females. Anirao I Hofman, p. 446 Q. What percentage of the skins you have taken were cows?—A. About 95 per cent of them were cows. Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you or usually killed by the hunting vessels in the North Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. Females. Gustave Isaacson, p.440.. Q. What percentage of them are females?—A, Itis very seldom that you ever get hold of a male. Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you or usually killed by hunt-- ing vessels in the North Pacific and Bering Sea ?— A. Females, principally. Frank Johnson, p. 441.. Q. What percentage of them? For instance, if you kill 100 seals, how many males would you get?—A. Perhaps two. You strike a few bulls when you get further, say, towards the Aleu- tian Islands. My experience has been that the sex of the seals usually killed by hunters employed on vessels under my command, both in the ocean and Bering Sea, were cows. I Jas. Kiernan, p. 450. should say that not less than 80 per cent of those caught each year were of that sex. Q. Do you know of what sex the seals were that you have taken in the Pacific and Bering Sea?—A. Principally females. Q. What percentage of the skins you have taken were cows?—A. About 90 per cent. Chas. Lutjens, p. 458. We caught about 400 or 500 seals before we got to the Bering Sea. I don’t know the precise number. They were bulls and females mixed in, but the general run of them = Wm. MeIsaac, p. 461. were females. Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you or usually killed by hunting vessels in the North Pacific or Bering Sea?—A. Principally females. 437 Q. What would be your judgment as to the per- centage? Out of a hundred that you kill, how many of them would be females?—A. Say I would bring 2,000 seals in here, I may have probably about 100 males; that is a large average. Alexander McLean, p. 426 RESULTS. Q. Lots of times there are not nearly as many?—A. No, sir; not near as many. ° Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you, or usually killed by hunt- Dine Mie Lean ge ing vessels in the North Pacific and Bering Sea?— A. Females. Q. What percentage of them are cows? Suppose you catch 100 seals, how many males would you have among them?—A. About 10. The seals killed by me were about half males and half females. Have killed but one old bull in my life. I have Fredk. Mason, p. 284. killed quite a number of yearling seals, but never examined them as to sex. Q. Do you know of what sex the seals were that you have taken in the Pacific and Bering Sea?—A. Mostly females. Prank Moreau, p. 468. @. What percentage of the skins you have taken were cows?—A. I should judge about 90 per cent. Niles Nelson, p. 469. I can not give the exact estimate of the sex, but I know that a large portion of them are females. We find pups in the cow seals up to the time they get to the Pribi- lof Islands in June, but when they come off the Niles Nelson, p. 470. Pribilof Islands they have bred, and are in milk for the remainder of the killing season. In going up the coast to Unamak Pass we caught about 400 seals, mostly females with young, and put their skins on John Olsen, p. 471. board the Danube, an English steamboat, at Ala- tack Bay, and after we got into the Bering Sea we caught 220. We had 200 at the time the lieutenant ordered us out of the sea, the remainder we caught after. We began sealing off Cape Flattery and captured about 300 seals along the coast, most all of which were females Charles Peterson, p. 345. and yearlings. We didnot capture over 50 males, all told, on this voyage. * * * About 90 per cent of all the seals we captured in the water were female seals. We caught 350 seals along the coast, all of which were females excepting 20. T can not tell you from the appearance of a seal in the water whether , itis a male or female, but most all of the seals we Adolphus Sayers, p. 473. ied in the water were females. Showoosch, p. 243. The majority of seal killed by me have been cows ; have killed a few small males. Q. Do you know of what sex the seals were that you have taken in the Bering Sea?—A. Females. Gustave Sundvall, p. 480. Q. What percentage of the skins you have taken were cows?—A. About 90 per cent or more. Jno. C. Tolman, p. 222. From what I have been able to learn the ma- jority of seals taken around Kodiak are females. EXAMINATION OF CATCH OF VESSELS SEIZED. 427 In my conversation with men engaged in seal-hunting in the open water of the North Pacific and Bering Sea, I have not been able to get sufficient information to form Francis Tuttle. p. 488. a reliable estimate of the average number saved out of the total number shot, nor of the percentage of females killed. As a rule, hunters are extremely reticent about giving information on the subject to officers of the Government, but from the well-known fact that the female seal is much more easily approached than the male and sleeps more frequently on the water and is less active when carrying her young, I have no doubt that the female is the one that is being killed by the hunter. I believe the number they secure is small as compared with the num- ber they destroy. Were it males only that they ee re killed the damage would be temporary, but it is ROL IU Dele mostly females that they kill in the open waters. It was freely admitted by the pelagic hunters with whom I conversed that but a very small per cent of their catch was males, and I found their statements in this re- spect verified by the dealers who bought or handled the skins and placed them on the market. They are known to the trade as the “Northwest Coast catch,” and I am credibly informed that a portion of the skin on the belly of the female heavy with pup or giving suck to her young is worthless, and that this is one of the chief causes why they are sold so much less than prime skins in the London market. . They also further stated that the two most profitable periods for them to catch seal was in the spring of the year, when the females were heavy with pup and frequently found asleep on the water, and in the summer, after the mother seal had given birth to her young and gone out into the sea to feed, at which time she was easily approached. W. H. Williams, p. 93. ‘We shot mostly females. Geo. Zammitt, p. 507. I never paid any particular attention as to the exact number of or : . : Ware proportion of each sex killed in the Bering Sea, ,. oes but I do know that the larger portion of them “/‘ehael White, p. 490. were females, and were mothers giving milk. DESTRUCTION OF FEMALE SEALS. EXAMINATION OF CATCH OF VESSELS SEIZED. Page 206 of The Case. About seven years since I was on the revenue cutter Corwin when she seized the sealing schooner San Diego in Ber- ing Sea. On the schooner’s deck were found the 4. Douglass, p. 420. bodies of some twenty seals that had recently been killed. An exami- nation of the bodies disclosed that all of them, with but a single ex- ception, were females, and had their young inside or were giving suck to their young. Out of some 500 or 600 skins on board I only found some 5 of the number that were taken from males. I have also been present at nu- merous other seizures of sealing vessels, some eighteen in number, and among the several thousand skins seized I found on examination that 428 RESULTS. : they weré almost invariably those of females. There certainly was not a larger proportion of males than five to the hundred skins. This great slaughter of mother seals certainly means a speedy destruction to seal life. While in Unalaska in September, 1891, awaiting transportation _ to San Francisco, I had an opportunity to ex- A, W. Lavender, p. 265. amine personally the catch of the steam sloop Challenge, which had been warned out of the sea, and was undergoing repairs at the harbor named. The catch amounted to 172 skins, which were all taken in Bering Sea at various distances from the seal islands, and of this number only three were those of male seals, one of these being an old bull, and the other two being younger males. In July, 1887, I captured the poaching schooner Angel Dolly while she was hovering about the islands. I examined A, P. Loud, p. 39. the seal-skins she had on board, and about 80 per cent were skins of females. In 1888 or 1889 I ex- amined something like 5,000 skins at Unalaska which had been taken from schooners engaged in pelagic sealing in Bering Sea, and at least 80 to 85 per cent were skins of females. In 1891 the schooner J. H. Lewis was caught near the islands by the Russian gunboat Aleut and found to have 416 in (Oo sas pay ay. skins on board. I made a personal examination of these skins, and found that from 90 to 95 per cent were those of female seals. I called the attention of the English commissioners, Sir George Baden-Powell and Dr. G. M. Dawson, to this fact when they visited the islands in 1891, showing them the skins. I opened a few bundles of the skins for their inspection and offered to show all of them, but they said they were satisfied without looking at any more than those already opened. I remember that a schooner from Victoria was also seized at the islands about three years ago by the Russian authorities with 33 skins on board, which were nearly all taken from female seals. And (2) because I have personally inspected skins taken upon the three schooners Onward, Caroline, and Thornton, T. F. Morgan, p. 64. which skins taken in Bering Sea were landed in Unalaska and were then personally inspected by me in the month of May, 1887. The total number of skins so examined by me was about 2,000, and of that number at least 80 per cent were the skins of females. I have also examined the skins taken by the United States revenue cutter Rush from one of the North Pacific Is- lands, where they had been deposited by what is known as a poaching schooner and taken to Unalaska, which numbered about 400 skins, and of that 400 skins at least 80 per cent were the skins of female seals. I have also examined the skins seized from the James Hamilton Lewis in the year 1891, by the Russian gunboat Aleut, numbering 416, of which at least 90 per cent were the skins of female seals, and from my long observation of seals and seal-skins, I am able to tell the difference be- tween the skin of a male and the skin of a female seal. I examined the skins taken from sealing vessels seized in 1887 and ‘ 1889, over 12,000 skins, and of these at least two- L. G. Shepard, p- 189. thirds or three-fourths were the skins of females. DESTRUCTION OF PREGNANT FEMALES. 429 DESTRUCTION OF PREGNANT FEMALES. Page 207 of The Case. We caught about 185 seals, mostly females in Chas. Adair, p. 400. young, and we killed them while they were asleep on the water. Most of the seal killed by me have been fe- Akatoo, p. 237. males with pup. A large majority of seal taken on the coast and in Bering Sea are cows, with pup in the Pacific Ocean and with milk in Bering Sea. A few young male sealare taken Peler Anderson, p, 315, in the North Pacific Ocean from 2 to 3 years old. Have never taken an old bull in the North Pacific Ocean in my life. A few yearlings have been taken by me, but not many. We sealed along the coast and captured 154; HW. Andricius, p. 314. most all of them were pregnant females. About 99 per cent of those saved are females, Chas. Avery, p. 218. and the greater number with young. Most all seal that I have killed have been pregnant cows. Have taken a few male seals from 1 to 4 years old, I ‘ ; 3 Adam Ayonkee, p. 255. think. Have never killed an old bull. eg Oe a Q. What percentage of the cows you have taken were with pup?— A. About 99 per cent of the cows taken were with pup; there may be one in a hundred thatis either Geo. Ball, p. 482. without pup or has had one. Most all the seals taken are females with pup. ae nny Baronoviteh, p. al . Most of the seals taken by me have been female with pup. Never killed but one old bull in my life. I have killed a good many small bulls and a great many yearling Maurice Bates, p. 277. seals, but never examined the latter as to sex. Seventy-five per cent of the seal taken on the Aartin Benson, p. 405. coast are cows with pup. We left Port Townsend in May and sealed south to Cape Flattery and then went north along the coast until we came to Unimak Pass, and captured from three to four — Bernhardt Bleidner, p. hundred seals. Most all were females and had 315. pups in them. I think fully two-thirds of all we caught were females, and a few were bulls. * * * We secured 500 skins along the coast, most all of which were preg- nant females. T have never killed any full grown cows on the coast that did not have pups in them, and I[ have hunted all the w d ; ; 2 VY Bowa-ch p. 376, trom the Columbia River to Barclay Sound. : eae 430 RESULTS. We left Victoria about May, going north, and sealed all the way to the Bering Sea. We had about sixty before en- Thos. Bradley, p. 406. tering the Bering Sea, nearly all of which were females with young pups in them. The seal captured by us along the coast in 1890 were all gravid fe- efiant Urowaecaah males. I do not know the sex of those taken by our Indians on the coast in that year. Henry Brown, p. 318. Our last catch of seals on the coast were almost exclusively gravid females. I think more than one-half the seals caught on the coast are cows that have pups in them. Cows caught in the lat- Peter Brown, p. 377. ter part of May and June have black pups in them, which we sometimes cut out and skin. Most all the seals that we shot and secured were females and had Thos. Brown (No. 1),p. YOUNS pups in them, and we would sometimes 319. skin them. * * #* Commenced sealing off Cape Flattery and all the seals which we caught were pregnant feinales. We had 250 seals before entering the sea, the largest percentage ot », Which were females, most of them having young a) pups in them. I saw some of the young pups taken out of them. Thos. Brown (No. p. 406. On my last sealing cruise this spring we caught five seals; two of them were females and had pups in them; three Landis Callapa, p. 379. Of them were young and smaller seals and had black whiskers. None but full-grown cows have white whiskers, but young cows and young bulls have black whiskers. About half of all the seals captured along the coast have white whis- kers, and are cows with pups in them. Most all full-grown cows that are caught have pups in them. Once, late in the season, I caught a full-grown barren cow with white whiskers. Majority of seals taken are females with young. We caught a large hie TEs number of pups in the early part of the season. Chas. Campbell, p. 298. Tid not take particular notice of the sex. Jno. C. Cantwell, p.407.. And that 75 per cent of seals shot in the North Pacific Ocean are females heavy with young. About 85 per cent of my catch of seals along the coast of the North Pacific were femaies, and most all of them were Jas. L. Carthcut, p. 409. Cows in pup, and [ used to kill most of them while asleep on the water. Chas. Challall, p. 411. Most of the seals we killed going up the coast were females heavy with pup. I think 9 out of every 10 were females. DESTRUCTION OF PREGNANT FEMALES. ASA Not quite half of all seals caught along.the coast are cows with pups in them. About half are young seals, both male and female, and the rest (a small number) are — Charlie, p. 305. medium-sized males. We never get any old bulls worth speaking of, and we do not catch as many gray pups how as formerly. Have not caught any gray pups this year. Do not know what has become of them. Have never caught any full-grown cows without pups in them, and have never caught any cows in milk along the coast. Most of the seals killed by me have been fe- ,_ Simeon Chin-koo-ton, p. males with young. * * * 200. The few male seals taken by me I do not know their ages. Quite a number of yearlings are taken, the majority of which are females; have taken a few bulls in my life. Of those secured, the larger part by far were fe- males, and the majority of these were pregnant Anat Christiansen, p. COWS. oe Most of the seals taken by me have been females with young. A few male seals have been taken by me, their ages ranging from one to five years old. Killed three — Peter Church, p. 257. large bulls during my life. A great many years ago we used to catch about one-half cows and one-half young seals. I never caught any seals along the coast that had given birth to their Circus Jim, p. 380. young and that had milk in their breasts. I never captured any barren cows. * * * And we secured ten seals in all, five of which had pups in them. I know this because I saw the pups when we cut the carcasses open. * * * The other five seals were smaller and probably male and female. When sealing along the coast it is seldom that I have seen or cap- tured an old bull. I have caught quite a large ; ; i = ig LO aad Mishoo 7 James Claplanhoo, p. number of gray pups or yearlings, and they are ge5° about equally male and female. About one-half of all seals that I have caught in the strait or on the coast were full- grown cows with pups in them, and I have never caught a full-grown barren cow, nor one that had given birth to her young, and was in milk. About half the seals killed by me have been cows with pup. I never shot but two old bulls in my life. Have shot a few yearling seals. The young male seals I have William Clark, p. 293. killed were between two and three years old, I think. The seals we catch along the coast are nearly all pregnant females, It is seldom we capture an old bull, and what males we get are usually young ones. I havefre- Christ Clausen, p. 320, quently seen cow seals cut open and the unborn pups cut out of them and they would live for several days. This isa frequent occurrence. 432 RESULTS. . 2. What percentage of the cows you have Daniel Claussen, p. 411. Q. : = Z ep ete taken were with pup?—A. About 70 per cent. Peter Collins, p. 413. Fully three-fourths of the seals shot in the North Pacific were females with young. We sailed up along the coast toward Bering Sea and captured five seals, all being gravid females. I noticed these Louis Culler, p.321. seals particularly, because there were but few of them. I kept a memorandum of the transactions of the voyage, and noted in my book the number of seals taken and their sex. Majority of seals taken are cows with pup. Once in awhile we Charlie Dahtlin, p.278, t#ke an old bull. A few yearlings are taken tlin, p. 278. also. From 75 per cent to 80 per cent of all the seals taken were mothers in young, and when cut open on deck we found Jas, Dalgarduo, p.364. the young within them. We had between 100 and 300 seals before enter- John Dalton, p. 417. ing the sea. Most all them were females with pups in them. Of the seals that were caught off the coast fully 90 out of every 100 had young pups inthem. The boats would bring Alferd Dardean, p. 322.the seals killed on board the vessel and we would take the young pups out and skin them. If the pup is a good, nice one, we would skin it and keep it for ourselves. I had eight suchskins myself. Four out of five, if caught in May or June, would be alive when we cut them out of the mothers. One of them we kept for pretty near three weeks alive on deck by feeding it on con- densed milk. One of the men finally killedit becauseit cried so pitifully. In all of my experience in sealing on this coast I have killed but one cow seal that had milk in her breast, and that had Frank Davis, p. 383. given birth to her pup. Ido not know what be- came ofthe pup. I have killed a very few barren cows along the coast. Nearly all of the full-grown cows along the coast have pups in them. Most of the seals caught on the coast are females with pups in Jeff Davis, p. 384. them, the balance are mostly young seals, both male and female. We sealed from San Francisco to Queen Charlotte Island, and caught between 500 and 600 seals, nearly all females Joseph Dennis, p. 418. heavy with young. Ihave seen alive young pup: taken out of its mother and kept alive for three or four days. We sealed from 10 to 120 miles off the coast. A large proportion of all seals taken are females with pup. A very few yearlings are taken. Never examine them as George Dishow, p.323. tosex. But very few old bulls are taken, but five being taken out of a total of 900 seals taken by my schooner. DESTRUCTION OF PREGNANT FEMALES. 433 We left Victoria the latter end of January, and went south to Cape Blanco, sealing around there two or three months, when we started north to the Bering Sea, sealing — Richard Dolan, p. 418. all the way up. We had between 200 and 300 seals before entering the sea, a great many of them being females with pups in them. My information and observation is that a very large proportion of those killed along the coast and at sea from Ore- gon to the Aleutian Islands are female seals with , oe H. Douglass, p. pups; I think not less than 95 per cent. 3 The Indians left their homes in March and remained away until May. Their hunting lodges were on some small islands outside of Dundas Island. From what they tell = /Vim. Duncan, p. 279. me the majority of seals taken by them have been females with young. I have caught 9 seals this year 5 of which had pups in them; the small ones did not have pups = ZUlabush, p. 385. in them. * ko In the months of January and February the pups in the cows are so small that you will not notice them unless you cut the bellyopen, All full-grown cows that I have killed along the coast had pups in them, and have never killed but one that had given birth to their young and were in milk, and have no recollection of having killed a barren cow. The younger ones do not have pups in them, and are about one-half male and one-half female. We went north to the Bering Sea, sealing all the way up, and got 110 seals before entering the sea. Most of them were cows, nearly all of which had pups in them. = Geo. Fairchild, p, 425, We took some of the pups alive out of the bodies of the females. Most all of the females taken are with young, or JF. LF. Feeny, p. 220. mothers. There were cow seals with pup among the seals that I have taken, ? ‘ aver tal but I don’t know how many. Ihave never taken — ¢,;, pF rants p. 280: an old bull in my life. I think the seals taken by me are about half females with pup, and the rest are one and two year old males and year- eee j : : om ache: Luke Frank, p. 294. lings; never examined the yearlings as to sex. Q. What percentage of the cows you have taken were with pup?— A. All that are killed in the Pacific are with ; pup, and those that are killed in the Bering Sea ,,/uther P. Prantlin, p. have been delivered of pups on the islands and are ~~’ with milk. Q. In your experience, while you were hunting seals, nearly all the seals that you killed were cows and nearly all had pups?—A. Nearly all the cows that were jo killed in the Pacific were with pup, and conse- 23B8 Luther T, Franktin, p, 434 RESULTS. quently the pups were all killed. As I said befure, out of 72 seals that 1 killed, there were only 3 males. @. What percentage of the cows you have edward W. Funcke, p. taken were with pup2?—A. About 60 per cent = were with pup. Most all the seals taken by me were females with pup. Most of the seals killed in Bering Sea have been cows with Chad George, p. 365. milk. Have never taken a bull seal off the coast of Washington, but have taken a few further north. A few young males are taken off the coast of Washington. I did not pay much attention to the sex of seals we killed in the North Pacific, but know that a great many of Thos. Gibson, p. 432. them were cows that had pups in them, and we killed most of them while they were asleep on the water. Most of the seals killed are cows with pup. * 4sINbOLTIT “AM SND | -IUEM “H “SOUL |” OosfouBIY UES | 60ST |" ”” -"*"* gegeey ‘UsT[A |ouooyoS |-UBoTIOMIY | 9 “SNW | LZ alae | *aMOOYOS 7219 | OF BOT GO Sg} ‘RITOJOTA ‘WoTIeA\ “CC |~°"9TPOd WRIT [°° OA “VMOPTA | 18 °9L rrrtresese-eppeg ‘Gown | WBEFg |-"° YS | LT AML | 9 *OOSTO “"""1 6B | 8 a 9F SG | -UrIg UBS ‘ppeT ‘d ‘OD | PPOL A Soule [°° OOsTOUBAT WLS | SP 'E9 SLSOFT “T ATIVT jzoTon[og (UBOLtouW | OT Aue | ¢ *IOMOOYOS | 9%] L | 89 L901 88 FO} Paap the ses oprecees|s-2+ mamma, eg ftttttt7t opet7] OL 09 7777777 grFes ‘argo | we ogg fet topes | aE Aime | % 61 |9 | TS 291) &% #9 \----" Sree: = op-ttet+|+ haa “y oB10ax) |*teee+++ 7+ Opte**] GL 6G | “OFFES'PBALALS “TAL PouooypS |***-" Opes") 6 AIL | g ‘O's *IOMOOILOS | ZL | 2 119% oL9T! 8S ofG | ‘BITOJOTA ‘MOTTe AA “CL [°° "7" WOSTO STOTT |" O'S ‘eLIOJOTA | GE ‘OE | oe elhg ‘oog vuuy | URAYS ystiig |e Are |Z “pus I | Pr] Sx wemoyy [octet ssepsnog yeqry j)7°°°"* SeUO Lg ‘A |---qse aa ‘OT99V09 | 199g |-"""*-EEEOZT ‘eSuOTTeETD sJoU00qIg |-ueoyoury og ounr | _ | | | | “L88T | | | a] 3 | | : iz E:| E |+(qsoa) |:(qga0u)| | | 98 | a: : el : ‘é e | *I9]St]T ; a | -oSeu *zaqumnu ae i Kay ‘pozres | 3 a eae ay IOUMO Surseavyy | qiod Sulprey | -u0y, [eroyo pux ou Sy | -jeuorjyeN ied E : | | | ‘y aTAvVL, 463 NURSING FEMALES. 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Op =] woes op""""| -LoMOOT IG ‘ST teeteeees pete -* asng Saag Oe, “s97Bqdg poy wbirisgnioe Ss Obra qsnug “soyeyS pagrag soEar a? qs gL seen op. vesereees opeees A sieee Sm QD 225 ee op**<* “$9}B4S pola Aree ee SUNT ewww ween Do vs ¥: set cewoee op-"** LN 1 tenes “soyeyg poylag “Ayemoryze ny ¢ ‘ydas gl ‘suy T ‘sny ATne Ane Ayue Arne Le Ane Ajne Aine ATne Aya snp Aine Aqne Aine ATne Aine “688T “‘pepavoq eyed et ANMHINOmy DOAN ‘zoquayy | DESTRUCTION OF NURSING FEMALES. 465 Fully 90 per cent of all seals secured by us in the Bering Sea were cows, in milk. We seldom captured a bull, one of which we shot over twelve times and afterwards Wm. Short, p. 348. it escaped. There are not so many seals lost in the Bering Sea as there are on the coast. We caught seals all the way from 50 to 250 miles from the rookeries on the Pribilof Islands. We caught female seals, in milk, near the Seventy-two Pass,in the Bering Sea. The Sev enty- ‘two Pass is about 230 miles from the Pribilof Islands. We caught 767 seals in Bering Sea that year [1884] from 30 to 150 miles off the seal islands. The mostof them were females, for the reason that they are not as cute Jas. Sloan, p. 477. and wild as the males. ’ A great many of the female seals had their breasts full of milk, which would run out on the deck when we skinned them. * * *. My third voyage was in 1889. I sailed from Yokohama on the Arctic, about the latter part of January. We cleared under the American flag, and * * * . We entered Bering Sea about the 17th of May and caught about 900 seals, the most of them around the fishing banks, just north of the Aleutian Islands. The majority of them were mother seals. And the majority of seals taken in Bering Sea are cows with milk, But a very few yearlings are taken, and once ina while an old bull istaken. The maleseal taken Fred. Smith, p. 349, are between two and four years old. * * * I have taken female seals 80 miles off the Pribilof Islands that were full of milk. Have killed cow seals that were full of milk Joshua Stickland, p. 350. over 40 miles from the Pribilof Islands. We entered the Bering Sea in June through Seventy-two Pass and caught about 100 seals, when we were ordered out of the sea. They were all females that had given John 4. Swain, p. 350. birth to their young. I have never captured any cows in milk along the coast, but when in the Bering Sea in 1889 I sealed off about 90 miles from the seal islands and caught cows in milk . there. John Tysum, p. 894. The majority of seals killed in the water are females, and all the fe- males killed in Bering Sea are mothers who have left their pups on the rookeries and gone some Daniel Webster, p. 183. distance from the islands in search of food. First. That 95 per cent of all the seals killed Theo. T. Williams, p. in the Bering Sea are females. 493, The statement I made that the capture of 168,000 skins meant the death of 720,000 seals needs some explanation. The sealing fleet begins work in the Bering Sea 7, 7, Williams, p. 502. about June and is all back home by the end of September. During this period there are but few seals in the waters 30 BS 466 RESULTS. of Bering Sea, except females. The male seals are all at the breeding islands, either guarding their harems or waiting the coming of the females. Ninety-five per cent of all the seals killed during summer and autumn in the Bering are females. Thomas Mowat, esq., inspector of fisheries for British Columbia, in his report to the eovernor- general of Canada, says that only 1 per cent of the Bering collection are pups. The female seals killed in the Bering are either on their way to give birth to their young or have left their pup on the islands, and, guided by that instinct given by nature to all mothers, have gone forth to search for food to | sustain the life of the little one. In either case the death of the mother means the death of the young. That thousands of the female seals were captured by the pelagic hunters in Bering Sea during the season of 1891, W. H. Williams, p. 94. the most of which had to be secured quite a dis- tance from the rookeries, owing to the presence of armed vessels patrolling the sea for miles around the islands, and that the slaughter of the seals was mostly of females, was confirmed by the thousands of dead pups lying on the rookeries, starved to death by the destruction of their mothers. We caught a few seals in there [Bering Sea]. When we first went in there we did not see many, but after we were John Woodruff, p. 506. in there a while we saw plenty of them that had large breasts that were full of milk, and our catch were most all females; the average would be about one male to ten females, and we killed cows in milk 150 miles from the seal islands. DEAD PUPS ON THE ROOKERIES. Page 212 of The Case. Dead “pup” seals, which seemed to have starved to death, grew very numerous on the “rookeries” these latter H. N. Clark, p. 159. years; and I noticed when driving the * bachelor” seals for killing, as we started them up from the beach, that many small “pups,” half starved, apparently motherless, had wander ed away from the breeding grounds and became mixed with the killable seals. The natives called my attention to these waits, saying that it did not use to be so, and that the mothers were dead; otherwise they would be upon the breeding grounds. There were a good many dead pups on the rookeries every year I was on the island, and they seemed to grow more nu- Alex. Hansson, p. 159. merous from year to year. There may not, in fact, have been more of them, because the rook- eries were all the time growing smaller, and the des 1d pups in the lat- ter years were more numerous in proportion of the live ones. The seals were apparently subject to no diseases; the pups were al- ways fat and healthy, and dead ones very rarely H. H. McIntyre, p. 51. seen on or about the rookeries prior to 1884. Upon my return to the islands, in 1886, I was told by my DEAD PUPS ON THE ROOKERIES. 467 assistants and the natives that a very large number of pups had _per- ished the preceding season, a part of them dying upon the islands and others being washed ashore, all seeming to have starved to death. The same thing occurred in 1886 and in each of the following years to and including 1889. Even before I left the islands, in August, 1886, 1887, and 1888, I saw hundreds of half-starved, bleating, emaciated pups wandering aimlessly about in search of their dams, and presenting a most pitiable appearance. But facts came under my observation that soon led me to what I believe to be the true cause of destruction. For instance, during the period of my residence on 7% 4, Morgan, p. 64. St. George Island, down to the year 1884, there were always a number of dead pups, the number of which I can not give exactly, as it varied from year to year, and was dependent upon accidents or the destructiveness of storms. Young seals do not know how to swim from birth, nor do they learn how for six weeks or two months after birth, and therefore are at the mercy of the waves during stormy weather. But from the year 1884 down to the period when I left St. George Island, there was a marked increase in the number of dead pup seals, amounting, perhaps, to a trebling of the numbers observed in former year's, so that I would estimate the number of dead pups in the year 1887 at about five or seven thousand as a maximum. I also noticed during my last two or three years, among the number of dead pups, an increase of at least 70 per cent of those which were emaciated and poor, and in my judgement they died from want of nour- ishment, their mothers having been killed while away from the iskand feeding, because it is a fact that pups drowned or killed by accidents were almost invariably fat. Learning further, through the London sales, of the increase in the pelagic sealing, it became my firm convic- tion that the constant increase in the number of dead pups and the decrease in the number of marketable seals and breeding females found on the islands during the years 1885, 1886, and 1887 were caused by the destruction of female seals in the open sea, either before or after giving birth to the pups. The mother seals go to feeding grounds distant from the islands, and I can only account for the number of starved pups by supposing that their mothers are killed while feed- ing. I visited the Pribilof Islands in 1890 and made a careful study of the conditions of seal life on those islands. I diseov- ered late in the season a large number of dead = Chas. W. Price, p. 521. pups lying upon the rookeries, which had the appearance of having been starved to death. NO DEAD PUPS PRIOR TO 1884, Page 212 of The Case. Poaching in Bering Sea had not begun in those years [from 1868 to 1876] and it was a rare thing to find a dead pup about the shores or on the rookeries. I had Geo. R. Adams, p. 158. frequent occasion after the close of the breeding season to visit all parts of the island, and there was no appearance of 468 RESULTS. gaunt or starved seals. Occasionally a dead pup was found that had been crushed to death by the bulls in their encounters with each other. Up to 1854 there were never enough dead pups on the rookeries to cause any remark. Occasionally one would be Jno. Armstrong, p.2. trampled to death by the fighting bulls, but the loss was almost nothing until the marine hunters began their work, and it grew to be quite noticeable before I left the islands. A dead pup was rarely seen, the dead being a small fraction of 1 per cent to the whole number of pups. Ido not think while [ was there I saw in any one season fifty dead pups on the rockeries, and the majority of dead pups were along the shore, having been killed by the surf. Chas. Bryant, p.8. During the two sealing seasons [ was on the islands I only saw a 8. N. Buynitsky, p.21, very few dead pups, and these had been killed by the larger seals crushing them. I have never seen a pup that was starved ‘to death, or which had been abandoned by its mother. There were not in 1880 sufficient dead pups scattered over the rookeries to attract attention or to form a feature W, H. Dall, p. 23. on the rookery. I have no recollection of ever having seen a dead pup on the breed- ing grounds, but [ have seen a _ considerable San’l Falconer, p. 161. number of silver-gray pups—that is, those that have learned to swim—which had been killed by being dashed against the rocks by the surf. During the time I was on the islands I only saw a very few dead pups on the rookeries, but the number in 1884 H. A. Glidden, p. 110. was slightly more than in former years, I never noticed or examined dead pups on the rookeries before 1884, the number being so small. In performing my official duty I frequently visited the breeding rookeries, and during my entire stay on the island Louis Kimmel, p. 174. [LT never saw more than 400 dead pups on all the rookeries. But very few dead pups were ever seen on the rookeries until the seal- ing schooners began to come in the water around Jac. Koichooten, p. 131. the island, and they have increased more and more since 1588. I never saw but a few dead pups on the rookeries until the schooners came into the sea and shot the cows when they Nicoli Krukof’, p. 132. went out to feed, and then the dead pups began to increase on the rookeries. TIME OF APPEARANCE OF DEAD PUPS. 469 I am informed that of late years thousands of young pups have died on the islands while the season was in progress. Certainly such condition did not exist during my — J. Al. Morton, p. 69. residence on the Pribilof group. The “pups” were sometimes trampled upon by the larger animals, and dead ones might be seen here and there on the rookeries, but the loss in this par- ticular was never large enough or important enough to excite any special comment. My observation in regard to the pup-seal life during those years was that the loss from natural causes was exceedingly small. I made frequent visits tothe breeding rook- 4. _G. Otis, p, 87. eries during and after the close of the breeding season, and found only a very small number of dead bodies; it was a rare thing to find a dead pup seal. In one of my official reports I made an estimate of the loss from natural causes, which I fixed, I believe, at only 1 or 2 per cent of all classes. Never while I was on St. George Island did I see a dead pup on the rookeries, and I certainly should have noticed if Be sete. 89, there had been any number on the island. During the year I was on the island of St. George I did not see to exceed twenty-five dead pups on the rookeries, and the bodies ot these were not emaciated, but W. B. Taylor, p. 176, had evidently been killed by the old bulls elimb- ing over them in their combats. While I was on the island I never saw more than twenty-five dead pups on the rookeries during any one season. I have seen occasionally a dead one among the Geo. Wardman, p.178. bowlders along the shore, which had probably been killed by the surf; but these dead pups were in no instance ema- ciated. TIME OF APPEARANCE OF DEAD PUPS. Page 213 of The Case. The loss of life of pup seals on the rookeries up to about 1884 or 1885 was comparatively slight and was generally at- tributed to the death of the mother seal from VW. 8S. Hereford, p. 32. natural causes or from their natural enemies in the water, or, as sometimes happened, sudden storms with heavy surfs rolling in from certain directions onto the breeding rookeries, but never at any time would a sufficient number of pups be killed to make it the subject of special comment, either among the natives or the employés of the company. As I was not present on the islands in the fall of 1885, I am unable to make a statement as to the number of dead pups on the rookeries in that year, but in 1886. 4. P. Loud, p. 38. saw a large number of dead pups lying about. These pups were very much emaciated, and evidently had been starved to death. * * #* In 1887 the number of dead pups was much larger than in 1886. In 470 RESULTS. 1888 there was a less number than in 1887, or in 1889, owing, as I believe, to a decrease of seals killed in Bering Sea that y ear; but i in 1889 the increase again showed itself. I believe the number ‘of dead pups in- creased in about the same ratio as the number of seals taken in Bering Sea by pelagic sealers. Between 1874 and 1883 predatory vessels occasionally appeared in Bering Sea, among them the Cygnet in 1874 and H. H. McIntyre, p. 51. the San Diego in 1876, but the whole number of seals destroyed by such vessels was small, and had no appreciable effect upon the rookeries; in 1884 about 4,000 skins were taken in Bering Sea by three vessels, and starved pups were noticed upon the islands that year for the first time. In 1885 about 10,000 skins were taken in this sea, and the dead pups upon the rook- eries became so numerous as to evoke comment from the natives and others upon the islands. For instance, during the period of my residence on St. George Isl- and, down to the year 1884, there were always a Thos. F. Morgan, p.64. Rwuber of dead pups, the number of which I can not give exactly, as it varied from year to year and was dependent upon accidents or the destructiveness of storms. Young seals do not know how to swim from birth, nor do they learn how for six weeks or two months after birth, and therefore are at the mercy of the waves during stormy weather. But from the year 1884 down to the period when I left St. George Island there was a marked increase in the number of dead pup seals, amounting, perhaps, to a trebling of the numbers observed in former years, so that I would esti- mate the number of dead pups in the year i887 at about five or seven thousand as a maximum. While on St. George Island there were practically no dead pups on the rookeries. Ido not think I saw during any J. H. Moulton, p. 71. One season more than a dozen. On St. Paul Isl- and I never saw any dead pups to amount to any- thing until 1884, and then the number was quite noticeable. NUMBER OF DEAD PUPS IN 1891. Page 214 of The Case. One thing which attracted my attention was the immense number of dead young seals; another was the presence of J.C. 8. Akerly, p. 95. quite a number of young seals on all the rookeries in an emaciated and apparently very weak condi- tion. I was requested by the Government agent to examine some of the carcasses for the purpose of determining the cause or causes of their death. I visited and walked over all the rookeries. On all dead seals were to be found in immense numbers. Their number was more apparent on those rookeries such as Tolstoii and Halfway Point, the water sides of which were on smooth ground, and the eye could elance over patches of ground hundreds of feet in extent which were thickly strewn with carcasses. NUMBER OF DEAD PUPS IN 1891. A771 Where the water side of the rookeries, as at ‘“‘ Northeast Point” and the reef (south of the village), were on rocky ground the immense number of dead was not so apparent, but a closer examination showed that the dead were there in equally great number scattered among the rocks. In some localities the ground was so thickly strewn with the dead that one had to pick his way carefully in order to avoid stepping on the careasses. The great mass of dead in all cases was within a short distance of the water’s edge. The patches of dead would com- mence at the water’s edge and stretch in a wide swath up into the rookery. Amongst the immense masses of dead were seldom to be found the carcasses of full-grown seals, but the carcasses were those of pups, or young seals born that year. I can give no idea of the exact number of dead, but I believe that they could only be numbered by the thousands on each rookery. Along the water’s edge, and scattered amongst the dead, were quite a number of live pups, which were in an emaciated condition. Many had hardly the strength to drag them- selves out of one’s way; thus contrasting strongly, both in appearance and actions, with the plump condition and active aggressive conduct of the healthy appearing pups. One day, during the latter part of August or forepart of September last (exact date forgotten), Col. Joseph Murray, one of the Treasury agents, and myself, in com- Milton Barnes, p. 101. pany with the British Commissioners, Sir George Baden-Powell and Dr. Dawson, by boat visited one of the seal rooker- ies of that island, known as Tolstoi or English Bay. On arriving there our attention was at once attracted by the excessive number of dead seal pups whose carcasses lay scattered profusely over the breeding ground or sand beach bordering the rookery proper, and extending into the border of the rookery itself, The strange sight occasioned much surmise at the time as to the probable cause “of it. Some of the carcasses were in an advanced stage of decay, while others were of re- cent death, and their general appearance was that of having died of starvation. There were a few that still showed signs of life, bleating weak and piteously, and gave every evidence of being in a starved con- dition, with no mother seals near to or showing them any attention. Dr. Dawson, while on the ground, took some views of the rookery with his kodak; but whether the views he took included the dead pups I could not say. Some days after this—can not state exact date— I drove with Mr. Fowler, an employé of the lessees, to what is known as Halfway Point, or Polovinia rookery. Here the scene was re- peated, but on a more extensive scale in point of numbers. The little carcasses were strewn so thickly over the sand as to make it difficult to walk over the ground without stepping on them. This condition of the rookeries in this regard was for some time a common topic of con- versation in the village by all parties, including the more intelligent ones among the natives, some of whom were with Mr. J. Stanley Brown in his work of surveying the island and brought in reports from time to time of similar conditions at substantially all the rookeries around the island. It could not, of course, be well estimated as to the num- ber thus found dead, but the most intelligent of the natives—chief of the village—told me that in his judgment there were not less than 20,000 dead pups on the various rookeries of the island and others still dying. 472 | RESULTS. In the latter part of July, 1891, my attention was called to a source of waste, the efficiency of which was most start- J. Stanley Brown, p. 18. lingly illustrated. In my conversations with the natives | had learned that dead pups had been seen upon the rookeries in the past few years in such numbers as to cause much concern. By the middle of July they pointed out to me here and there dead pups and others so weak and emaciated that their death was but a matter of a few days. By the time the British com- missioners arrived the dead pups were in sufficient abundance to attract their attention, and they are, I believe, under the impression that they first discovered them. By the latter part of August deaths were rare, the mortality having practically ceased. An examination of the w arning lists of the combined fleets of British and American cruisers will show that before the middle of ee the last sealing schooner was sent out of Bering Sea. These vessels had entered the sea about July 1 and had done much effective work by July 15. The mortality among the pups and its cessation is synchronous with the sealing fleet’s arrival and departure from Bering Sea. There are several of the rookeries upon which level areas are so dis- posed as to be seen by the eye at a glance. In September Dr. Akerly and I walked directly across the rookery of Tolstoi, St. Paul, and in addition to the dead pups in sight they lay in eroups of from ‘three to a dozen among the obscuring rocks on the hillside. From a careful examination of every rookery upon the two islands made by me in August and September, I place the minimum estimate of the dead pups to be 15,000, and that some number between that and 30,000 would repr esent more nearly a true statement of the facts. 1 did not observe any unusually large number of dead pups on the rookeries in my visits to the islands until the year John C.Cantwell, p. 408. 1891. During the month of September of that year, In company with Mr. J. ey Brown, I visited the Starry Ateel and eastern rookeries on St. George Island | and saw more than the average number of dead pups and a great many living pups, evidently in very poor condition, and either dead or dying from “starvation, differing in this respect from the condition in which they are ordinarily found at this time of the year. Subsequently, in November, 1891, I visited the Polovinia rookery on St. Paul Island, and in the cour se of one hour’s slow walking, covering perhaps 13 miles of ground, estimated the number of dead pup seals to be not less than iL 000. I consider this number enormously in excess of the normal mortality. No mention was ever made of any unusual number of dead pups upon the rookeries having been noticed at W. C. Coulson, p. 415. any time prior to my visit in 1870, but when I again visited the islands in 1890 I found it a sub- ject of much solicitude by those interested in the perpetuation, and in 1891 it had assumed such proportions as to cause serious alarm. The natives making the drives first discovered this trouble, then special agents took note, and later on I think almost everyone who was allowed to visit the rookeries could not close their eyes or nostrils to the great numbers of dead pups to be seen on all sides. In company with Special Agent Murray, Captain Hooper, and Engineer Brerton, of the Corwin, I visited the Reef and Gobatch rookeri ies, St. Paul Island, in August, NUMBER OF DEAD PUPS IN 1891. 473 1891, and saw one of the most pitiable sights that I have ever wit- nessed. Thousands of dead and dying pups were scattered over the rookeries, while the shores were lined with emaciated, hungry little fellows, with their eyes turned toward the sea uttering plaintive cries for their mothers, which were destined never to return. Numbers of them were opened, their stomachs examined, and the fact revealed that starvation was the cause of death, no organic disease being apparent. The schooners increased every year from the time I first noticed them until in 1884 there was a fleet of 20 or 30, and then I began to see more and more dead pups Jno. Fratis, p. 108. on the rookeries, until in 1891 the fleet of sealing schooners numbered more than a hundred and the rookeries were cov- ered with dead pups. It was also during these years that dead emaciated pups were first noticed on the rookeries, and they increased in numbers until 1891, in which year, in August and = Ldward Hughes, p. 37. September, the rookeries were covered with dead pups. In 1891 there was a great many that were thin and poor, and they would crawl down to the water and make a noise for their mothers until they died, and when some — Jae. Kotchooten, p. 131. of them were cut open they had no milk in their stomachs. There were more dead pups in 1891 than ever ANicoli Krukoff, p. 132. before, and they were all starved to death. There was a great number of dead pups upon the rookeries last year, whose mothers, I believe, were killed at sea by sealing schooners, and I do not expect to see Aggei Kushen, p. 128. many cows this year. I have noticed more and more dead pups on the rookeries every year since 1888, and in 1891 they were so close together in places I could not step among them 4ggei Kushen, p. 180. without stepping on a dead pup. Q. Did you see an unusual number of dead pups on the rookeries this season?——A. Yes; I saw more dead pups this Noon agan dregin et al., p. year than ever before. I went with Mr. J.Stanley 140, Brown in August to assist him to make a survey of the rookeries and saw dead pups grouped in various places. Q. Did you see dead pups on all the rookeries you visited?—A. Yes; but some rookeries had more than others. Q. Did you see any dead pups on the rookeries the past season ?—A. Yes; I saw lots of them. Hidawe Me iodéd Q. How do they compare with the number ob- 139. ie ene served in former years?—A. Much greater in pro- portion to the number of females on the rookeries than formerly. 474 RESULTS. It was noticed by everyone on the island at this time that as tne seals decreased on the rookeries from year to year A. Melovedoff, p. 143. the number of dead pups increased, until in 1891 the rookeries were covered with them. From 1884 the schooners kept on increasing, until in 1891 there was more than one hundred. These schooners care very little about coming to the islands to take seals on the land, for they only have to hover around the fishing banks from 50 to 200 miles away and take all the seals they want. “Tt is to these banks the cow seals go to feed after the birth of their young, and it is here they are shot and killed and the pups are left to starve and die on the rookeries. Last year I saw thousands of such pups. On the 19th of August, 1891, I saw the young pups lying dead upon “the rookeri ies of St. Paul, and I estimated their Jos. Murray, p. 74. number to be not less than 30,000; and they had died from starvation, their mothers having been killed at the feeding grounds by pelagic hunters. Simeon Melovidov, p. And as the seals decreased we found the rook- 146. eries covered with dead pups, which in 1891 lay . in heaps upon the ground. Q. Have you noticed any dead pups on the rookeries this past sea- son, and in what proportion to former years?—A. J.C. Redpath, p. 140. T have seen an unusual number of dead pups this year on the breeding grounds; I may say twice as many as formerly. In 1891 the rookeries on St. Paul Island were covered, in places, with dead pups, all of which had every symptom of J. C. Redpath, p. 152. having died of hunger, and on opening several of them the stomachs were found to be empty. The lowest estimates made at the time, piacing the number of dead pups on the rookeries at 25,000, is too high. CAUSE OF DEATH OF PUPS. Page 215 of The Case. The majority of the pups, like all healthy nursing animals, were plump and fairly rolling in fat. $ have watched J.C. 8. Akerly, p. 96. the female seals draw up out of the water, each pick out its pup from the hundreds of young seals sporting near the water’s edge, and with them scramble to a clear spot on the rookery, and lying down give them suck. Although I saw pups nursing in a great many cases, ‘yet T never saw one of the sickly looking pups receiving any attention from the female. They seemed to be deserted. The cause of the great mortality amongst the seal pups seemed to me to have ceased to act, in great part, betore my first visits to the rook- eries; for subsequent visits did not ‘show as great an increase in the masses of dead as I would have expected, had the causes still been in active operation. It seemed to me that there were fewer sickly looking pups at each subsequent visit. This grew to be more and more the case as the season advanced. When I visited the rookeries for the purpose CAUSE OF DEATH OF PUPS. 475 of examining the dead bodies, it was with extreme difficulty that car- casses could be found fresh enough to permit of a satisfactory examina- tion. I examined a large number of carcasses. Al] showed an entire absence of fatty tissue between the skin and muscular tissue. The omentum in all cases was destitute of fat. These are the positions where fat is usually present in all animals. Well-nourished young ani- mals always have a large amount of fat in these localities. The few carcasses which were found in a fair state of preservation were ex- amined more thoroughly. The stomachs were found empty and con- tracted, but presented no evidence of disease. The intestines were empty, save in a few cases, where small amounts of fecal matter were found in the large intestines. A careful examination of the intestines failed to discover any evidence of disease. The heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys were in a healthy condition. Such is the evidence on which I have founded my opinion that the cause of the great mortality during 1891 amongst the young seals on St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, was caused by the deprivation of mother’s milk. The result of my investigation is that there was great mortality exclusively amongst nursing seals. Secondly, the cause of this mor- tality seemed to have been ‘abated pari passu with the abatement of sea sealing. Thirdly, the presence of emaciated, sickly looking pups which were apparently deserted by their mothers. Fourthly, the plump, healthy appearance of all the pups I saw nursing. Fifthly, the emaciated condition of the dead. Sixthly, the absence of food in the stomachs, and their contracted condition. Seventhly, the absence of digested food in the small intestines. Highthly, the absence of even fecal matter, save in small amounts in a few cases. Ninthly, the ab- sence of structural changes in the viscera or other parts of the bodies to account for the death. Q. Did you see any dead pups on the rookeries this season ?—A. Yes; my attention was called to the matter by J. Stanley Brown, who requested me to examine J.C. S. Akerly, p. 141. them with a view to determining the cause of their death. I examined a number which had apparently recently died. Their bodies were entirely destitute of fat and no food to be found in their stomachs. After a careful examination I found no evidence of disease. Q. What do you assign as the cause of their death.—A. I believe them to have died of starvation. Q. Why do you think they died of starvation?—A. From the fact that nearly all the dead on the rookery were pups, and from absence of all signs of disease, emaciated condition of their bodies, and absence of food from their stomachs. There were a great many dead pups on the rookeries during my last three years on St. Paul Island. Many of them wandered helplessly about, away from the groups —_‘. C. Allis, p. 98. or “pods” where they were accustomed to lie, and finally starved to death. We knew at the time what killed them, for the vessels and boats were several times plainly in sight from the Island shooting seals in the water, and the revenue cutters and com- pany’s vessels arriving at the island frequently reported the presence in Bering Sea and sometimes the capture of these marauding crews. Tf all had been captured and the business broken up the seal rookeries would be healthy and prosperous to-day, instead of being depleted and 476 RESULTS. broken up. I speak positively about it, because no other cause can be assigned for their depletion upon any reasonable hypothesis. It was easy enough to see what they died of. They simply starved to death, wandering about and bleating until it Jno. Armstrong, p. 2. . made one’s heart ache to see them. Their mothers had been killed off in the water, and the pups lived and suffered for weeks. They are very tenacious of life. holding out six or eight weeks or more after they lose their mothers. These dead pups have increased from year to year since 1887, and in 1891 the rookeries were covered with dead pups. K. Artomanoff, p.100. In my sixty-seven years’ residence on the island I never before saw anything like it. None of our people have ever known of any sickness among the pups or seals and have never seen any dead pups on the rookeries except a few killed by the old bulls when fighting or by drowning when the surf waghed them off. Dr. Ackerly, the lessees’ physician at the time, made an autopsy of some of the carcasses, and reported that he could Milton Barnes, p. 101. find no traces of any diseased condition whatever, but there was an entire absence of food or any signs of nourishment in the stomach. Before Dr. Dawson left I called his attention to what Dr. Ackerly had done, but whether he saw him on the subject I can not tell. I procured a number of these pups, and Dr. Akerly, at my request, made autopsies, not only at the village, but later J. Stanley Brown, p.19. On upon the rookeries themselves. The lungs of these dead pups floated in water. There was no organic disease of heart, liver, lungs, stomach, or alimentary canal. In the latter there was but little and often no fecal matter and the stom- ach was entirely empty. Pups in the last stage of emaciation were seen by me upon the rookeries, and their condition, as well as that of the dead ones, left no room to doubt that their death was caused by starvation. Some men tell me last year “ Karp, sealsare sick.” Iknow seals are not sick; I never seen a sick seal, and I eat seal meat Karp Buterin, p. 103. every day of my life; all our people eat seal meat, white men eat seal neat, no one ever seen bad seal meat or sick seal. No big seals die unless we club them, only pups die when starved, after the cows are shot at sea. When we used to kill pups for food in November they were always full of milk; the pups that die on the rookeries have no milk. The cows go into the sea to feed after the pups are born, and the schooner men shoot them all the time. The pups on the rookeries were fat and healthy, and while I was on the islands no epidemic disease ever appeared Chas. Bryant, p. 8. among them, nor did the natives have stories of an epidemic ever destroying them. CAUSE OF DEATH OF PUPS. ATT 1 was informed at the time [November, 1891] that the stomachs of dead pups had been examined by the medical officers at the island and no traces of food were — Jno. C. Cantwell, p. 408. found therein. From personal observation I am of the opinion that fully 90 per cent of them died of starvation, great emaciation being apparent. The greatest number of seals taken by hunters in 1891 was to the westward and northwestward of St. Paul island, and the largest number of dead pups were found WW. C. Coulson, p. 415. that year in rookeries situated on the western side of the island. This fact alone goes a great way, in my opinion, to confirm the theory that the loss of the mothers was the cause of mor- tality among the young. A good many pups are killed at this period of life [before learning to swim] by being dashed against the rocks by the surf, which is particularly violent about these — Sam’l Falconer, p. 165. islands. I have never known of any sickness or epidemic among the seals, and I am of the opinion that the thousands of dead pups on the rookeries last year died of starva- ©, L. Fowler, p. 25. tion on account of their mothers being shot and killed while feeding at the fishing banks in the sea. I was present last year and saw some of the dead pups examined. Their stomachs were empty, and they presented all the appearances of starvation. 1 also noticed on the rookeries a great many emaciated pups, which, on a later visit, would be dead. It has always been the practice prior to 1891 for the natives to kill three to four thousand pups in November for food, and we always find their stomachs filled with milk. ; When Mr. Webster had charge of the killing at Northeast Point, where he used to kill from 25,000 to 35,000 seals in a season, I generally did the cooking there, John Fratis, p. 107. and I cooked seal meat every day, and we all ate it, and our people live on seal meat, yet I never saw a sick or a diseased seal or a carcass that was unfit for food. It is my opinion that the cows are killed by the hunters when they go out in the sea to feed, and the pups are left to die 4, gra lis, p. 109. and do die on the island. But that year [1884] I examined them, and found them very much emaciated. In my judgment they were starved to death because their mothers had been killed while — 7. 4. Glidden, p. 110. away from the islands in search of food. This, perhaps, would not be so if a cow would suckle any pup that comes to her, but she will not, and on the contrary will beat off any young seal which endeavors to nurse from her except her own. I know a cow rec- ognizes her pup, but a pup never seems to distinguish its mother from other cows which it comes in contact with. They were thin and poor, and appeared to have Alex Hansson, p. 116. starved to death. 478 RESULTS. It is a well-known fact that the female seals leave the islands and go great distances for food, and it is clearly proven that many of them do not return, as the number of pups starved to death on the rookeries demon- strates. W. S. Hereford, p. 33. I have been steward and cook at the company house for the lessees since 1882, and during the time when seals are Edward Hughes, p. 7. killed for skins or food I have daily prepared and cooked the meat in various ways for.the use of the table at which ail white people board who live on or come to the island, and such a thing as a diseased seal has never been known. I was present when Dr. Akerly, the resident physician, made an examination of some of them and it was found that their stomachs were empty, and that they exhibited all the conditions of starvation. None of our people ever knew of any sickness among the seals and ieoritntoliolenn wk pups, and their flesh has always been our meat ood. Thave often cut open dead pups and examined their stomachs, and Eee . _.. found them empty, and the pups looked as if they Nicoli Krukof, p- 182. had been starved to death. * * * When we used to kill pups for food and clothing in November, I often examined them, and always found plenty of milk intheir stomachs. I never saw or heard tell of a sick seal, and although we have always eaten the flesh of the fur-seal we have never found cne that was diseased in any way. I never saw a dead grown seal on the island during my twenty-five years’ residence here, except odd ones that had Aggei Kushen, p. 128. been killed in fighting for places on the rookeries. I never heard any of the old men who have lived here for fifty years before my time speak of such a thing as sick- ness or death among the seals. We eat the flesh of the seal and it constitutes the meat supply of the natives, and seals from 2 to 5 years old have been killed by them for food every week during their stay on the land ever since the islands were peopled, and no one has yet found a diseased seal, either young or old. I saw many of them cut open and examined by the doctor (Dr. Ack- erly) and their stomachs were empty. All of the Aggei Kushen, p. 130. dead pups were poor and thin and starved. I believe they all died of starvation because their mothers had been shot at sea when they went out to feed. I never saw a full fat pup or one who had a mother to feed him dead, ex- cept a few that were drowned in the surf. For if the mother seals are destroyed, their young can not but per- ish; no other dam will suckle them; nor can they H. HH, McIntyre, p. 51. subsist until at least three or four months old without the mother’s milk. The loss of this vast number of pups, amounting to many thousands, we could attribute to no other cause than the death of the mother at the hands of pelagic seal-hunters. CAUSE OF DEATH OF PUPS. 479 Q. How do you account for so many dead pups?—A. I think their mothers were killed in the sea by the poachers while away from the islands in search of food. Noen Mandregin et al., Q. Why do you think that they were killed by p. 140. poachers?—A. I was once on board a schooner which was seized at Northeast Point and saw a number of female skins on board. Q. How do you account for this?—A. 1 think the cows were killed by the poachers while away from the rookeries, and as mother seals nurse none but their own Anton Melovedoff, p.139. young, consequently the pups whose mothers were killed die from starvation. And I saw many of them opened, and in all cases there was not a sign of food in their stomachs. I never seen a pup that had a mother living to suckleitlook poor 4. Melovedoff, p. 148. or sick or starved; nor did I ever see or hear of a sick or diseased seal, although I have eaten the flesh of the fur-seal all my life, and it is and has ever been the staple meat ration of our people. Seal meat is cooked at the company house every day while seals are to be had, and it is eaten by all the white men on the island. Men talk of epidemics among seals and of impotent bulls on the rookeries, but those who have spent a lifetime on the seal islands, and whose business and duty it has been to guard and observe them, have no knowledge of the existence of either. And when they were examined by the physician I was present, and Isaw them cut open and their stomachs were empty and not a sign of milk in them. The only solution of the problem is, in my opinion, that the cows or mother seals go into the sea to feed, and while they are there they are shot and killed by pelagic hunters, and the pups, deprived of suste- nance, die upon the rookeries. Until 1891 we were allowed several thousand pup seals for food, and I have often killed them, and saw others killing them, and they were always full of milk. The pups found dead upon the rookeries are always poor and thin and starved and empty. * * * The flesh of the fur-seal has been eaten by our people ever since their first settling here, and it constitutes the chief part of their daily food, and it is eaten regularly by every white man on the island; and yet no one here has ever seen or heard tell of a sick or diseased seal. Simeon Melovidov, p. 146. The seals are never visited by physical disorders of any kind, so far as I could ascertain, and I have never seen on their bodies any blemishes, humors or eruptions John M. Morton, p. 68. which might be attributed to disease. These latter pups I examined, and they seemed to be very much emaciated. In my opinion they died of starva- tion, caused by the mothers having been shot J. 4. Moulton, p. 71. while absent from the islands feeding. Another cause of their starving is because a cow refuses to give suck to any pup but her own, and she recognizes her offspring by its ery, distin- guishing its voice from that of hundreds of others which are constantly bleating. 480 RESULTS. The epidemic theory was urged very strongly in 1891, when the rookeries were found covered with dead pups; L. A. Noyes, p. 84. but acareful and technical examination was made on several of the dead bodies without discovering a trace of organic disease; while starvation was so apparent that those who examined them decided that it was the true cause of their death. Had sickness or disease attacked the seal herd it is only reasonable to suppose a few grown seals would be found dead where so many young ones had died so suddenly; but the most diligent search has failed to find a grown seal dead upon the islands from unknown causes. From the discovery of the islands until the present time the flesh of the fur-seal has been the daily meat ration of the natives and of the white people, and yet it is a fact that a tainted or diseased carcass has never been known. Some of these losses were due to their perhaps too early attempts to swim. When the pup is a few months old the H. G. Otis, p. 87. mother seal conducts it to the water and teaches it to swim near the shore. If a heavy sea is en- countered the weak little pup is liable to be thrown by the surf against the rocks and killed, but under natural conditions and with the pro- tection to the rookeries formerly enforced at the islands the losses from this cause and all others combined (save alone the authorized killing) amounted to an infinitesimal percentage of the whole numbers in the herds. Another theory, equally untrue, was that an epidemic had seized the herd; but investigations of the closest kind have J. C. Redpath, p.151. never revealed the death, on the islands, of a full- grown seal from unknown causes. Let it be re- membered that the flesh of the seal is the staple diet of the natives and that it is eaten daily by most of the white employés as well; and yet it is true that a sign of taint or disease has never been found on a seal careass in the memory of man. It was not until so many thousands of dead pups were found upon the rookeries that the problem was solved. Thetruth is that when the cows go out tothe feeding grounds to feed they are shot and killed by the pelagic hunter, and the pups, deprived of suste- nance, die upon the rookeries. Excepting a few pups killed by the surf occasionally it has been demonstrated that all the pups found dead are poor and starved, and when examined their stomachs are found to be without a sign of food of any sort. The resident physician, Dr. Ackerly, examined many of them and found in every instance that starvation was the cause of death. A double waste occurs when the mother seal is killed, as the pup will surely starve to death. A mother seal will give Z. L. Tanner, p. 375. Sustenance to no pup but her own. I saw sad evi- dences of this waste on St. Paul Island last season, where large numbers of pups were lying’ about the rookeries, where they had died of starvation. I never heard of any disease among the seal herd, nor of an epidemic of any sort or at any time in the history of the Danl. Webster, p. 183. = 2 islands. CAUSE OF DEATH OF PUPS. A481 So, too, is revolting the slaughter of the female seal that has given birth to her pup and gone out into the sea to find food to sustain the lives of both of them. She JZ. 7. Williams, p. 503. leaves her pup on shore, a helpless, tiny thing, soft and pulpy, and only able to wriggle and bark. Nature has taught her to recognize it among hundreds of thousands by its plaintive bleat, and the eagerness with which she rushes to its side when she comes ashore shows how much she loves to fondle and care for it. If the mother is killed the pup will linger on for a time, only to die of starvation in the end, or, because of weakness, be dashed to pieces in the first storm. Thousands of these orphan pups are found along the coast after a se- vere storm, dead, because they had not sufficient strength to exist in their natural element. Had their mothers been spared till it was time for the pups to take to the water and live on fish of their own catching, no storm that ever raged in the Arctic Ocean could disturb them. The seal pup can live a long time without food, which is a wise provision of nature, because the mother often has to go a very long distance to fish, but after a few days, if the mother does not return, the pup’s vitality becomes exhausted and it dies. If the mother of a young seal is killed the pup is very likely to die. It will be so weak that the first storm will dash it ashore and kill it, or it may die of starvation. I 7, 7. Williams, quoting have seen pups hardly larger than a rat from lack Capt. Olsen, p. 505. of nourishment. A starved or neglected orphan pup is nearly sure to die. At one storm the natives found over three hundred pups w&shed ashore in a little cove, and the water around was full of dead pups. It is certain that nearly all the dead pups were orphans. The female seal when suckling her young has to go out into the ocean in search of food, and it is those females, or females on the way to the breeding grounds to give birth to the young, that we kill in the Bering Sea, 31 BB : PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION. OTHER SEAL HERDS. DESTRUCTION OF. Page 218 of The Case. Patagonia.—The seal rookeries of Patagonia lie along the eastern coast, south of about latitude 42°, and up the western coast to the Gulf of Penas. Formerly James W. Budington, p. these regions abounded in seals, but now there 593. are not enough to pay for the hunting. In18s81 L took 600 seals off the western coast at Pictou opening. In 1888-89 I again visited the coast, but only obtained 4 skins. Great quantities have been taken from the eastern coast, but at present there are no seals there. Terra del Fuego and the islands in the vicinity.—These islands were at one time very abundant in seals, and were considered among the best rookeries. I visited them in 1879-80 and took 5,000 skins. On my last voyage, in 1891-92, I took only 900, and the majority of these came from another portion of the coast, which had not been worked for twelve or fifteen years. Thousands of skins had formerly been taken from these islands, but the animals are practically extinct there to-day. Falkland Islands.—At one time these islands were very abundant in seal life, but excessive and indiscriminate killing has nearly annihi- lated them. South Georgia Island.—This island at one time produced many thou- sand skins. I visited it in 1874 and got 1,450 skins, but it had been visited five years before, James W. Budington, p. when 800 skins were taken, and where those had 594. been taken I only got 86. I found a new rookery which had not, been not been worked, to my knowledge, and then I got the remainder. In 1875 5 vessels visited the island and got 600 seals. The next season 4 vessels again worked it, getting 110. Since that time, until January, 1892, it had not been worked, and in that month I got from there 135 skins, none, however, coming from the old rookeries. The seals on South Georgia are practically extinct. South Shetland Islands.—The shores of these islands were once cov- ered with seals, but there are practically none there now. I don’t think 100 skins could be taken from there at the present time, while I have known of 1 vessel taking 60,000 in a season. Since my experience be- gan, however, the biggest catch was 13,000 by a fleet of 4 vessels; that was in 1871~72, I was there at that time. The next year we took about 12,000, the fleet consisting of 6 vessels. In 187374 our fleet of 483 484 OTHER SEAL HERDS. 7 vessels took about 5,000. Upto about 1880 from 100 to 200 seals were taken annually from these islands. Since 1880 the rookeries were not worked till 188889. That season I visited the islands and took 39 skins. J again went there this year and took 41. Sandwich Land.—In 1875~76 I visited these islands; there were 3 or 4 vessels in the fleet. We searched the southern islands and found nothing. One vessel went to the northern islands and took about 2,000 skins. In 1876~77 I was there again, the fleet consisting of 6 vessels. We took altogether about 4,000. The next season some vessels again visited the islands, but did not take 100 seals. In 1880~81 2 vessels stopped there, but ‘got no skins. From that time until [ called there’ this season they hau not been worked. I took 400 skins. Perhaps 200 more could be taken there, but not more, and that would clear them up, except what few young ’ seals might live through this season. I have never been on the Lobos Isk .nds, but in passing the mouth of the Platte in September I have seen seals in the water a hundred miles from the islands. From hundreds of thousands of seals resorting to these islands and coasts, the numbers have been reduced to a few Jas. W. Budington, p. hundreds, which seek the jand in scattered bands 595. (Antarctic. ) and rush to the sea on the approach of man. Manner of sealing—When I first began sealing in 1871, these rook- eries had not been worked for twenty-five or thirty ye: rs, and the seals had had a chance to increase. The seals were then very tame, and were all killed with clubs. So tame were they you could go around among them like you could among cattle, and at one place they wouldn’t get out of the way, so had to be knocked in the head in order to make room to set upa tent. Before 18380, however, the seals had become wild from hunting, and we had to use guns, killing them on the rookeries and in the water, wherever we eould wet at them. Waste of life—We killed everything, old and young, that we could get in gunshot of, excepting the black pups, whose skins were un- market table, and most all of these died of starv ation, having no means of sustenance, or else were killed by a sort of buzzar d, when the mother seals, having been destroyed, were unable to protect them longer. So, too, these birds ate the carcasses of the dead pups, and little traces were to be found of the bodies. The seals in all these localities have been destroyed entirely by this indiscriminate killing of old and young, male and female. If the seals in these regions had been protected, and only a certain number of ‘ dogs” (young male seals unable to hold their positions on the beaches) allowed to be killed, these islands and coasts would be again populous with seal life. The seals would cer- tainly not have decr eased, and would have produced an annual supply of skins for all times. As it is, however, seals in the Antarctic regions are practically ex- tinct, and I have given up the business as being unprofitable. The whole annual catch for 7 vessels has not exceeded 2,600 skins for the last four years. I have observed the habits of the seals frequenting these localities, , . and I spent fourteen consecutive months on one ug Ca i island, called by us West Cliff, located on the goast of Chile, about a hundred miles north of the Straits of Magellan. On that cruise we were three years away from DESTRUCTION OF. A85 home, all of which time was spent about Terra del Fuego and the coast of Patagonia and Chile. During these three years (1879 to 1882) our catch was 4,000 seals, 2,000 of which were taken the first year, and we practically cleaned the rookeries out. In 1885 to 1886, I visited South Georgia as mate of a vessel. We had heard reports of the number of seals for merly taken there, but we did not get a seal, and only saw one. In 1887, while I was on Goughs Island, the vessel went over to South Georgia and took 3 seals. In the summer of 1887 we put six men on Goughs Island, and then went to the Crozets and Kerguelen Island, commonly called Desolation Island. On our return, nine months after, the gang had taken about 40 or 50 skins. Years before the English had had the working of Goughs Island, and had run the business out, so there were practically no seal there. We puta gang onthe Crozets, expecting to do well. They staid there five months and took 3 seals. The English at Cape Town had recommended us to go there, because they said that formerly they had taken a great number of skins there. We went to Kerguelen Island, and there I had charge of the sealing. We staid about four months, and took 18 seals. Prior to this visit I had spent five months at Kerguelen Island, and we then took 6 seals; that was in the winter of 1883 and 1884. About 1850 this island was visited by an American, who practically cleaned off the seals. The captain 1 shipped with, Joseph Fuller, visited the island in 1880, and took 5,600 seals, practically all there were; and this was the increase for the thirty years from 1850, In the first part of a season we never disturbed the rookeries we visited, always letting the seals come on shore; then we would kill them on land with clubs or rifles. During the latter part of a season the seals become very wild, and we used to shoot them in the water from boats. When we shoot them in the water we lose certainly three out of five we kill by sinking, and we also wounded a great many more. Shooting seals in the w ater is the most destructive method of taking them as compared with the number of skins we have to show for our work. Geo. Comer, p. 597. (Antarctic. ) In 1870, I sent a vessel to Chillaway, off the coast of Chile, where there were thousands of seals in those waters. This last season the Hancock returned from a trip Geo. Fogel, p. 424. there, and the captain informed me that there were no seals worth mentioning. They would have been good rookeries to-day if they had been protected from marauders. The South Shet- land rookeries were in the same condition in former years, while to-day you could not get athousand dollars’ worth of seals if you were to hunt there the whole season. In 1885 I made a voyage to the Galapagos Island as master of the schooner Dashing Wave, arriving there on the 30th day of August, and remaining until the 8th day of Frank M. Gaffney, p.430. December of the same year. I obtained at this time on those islands about 1,000 fur-seal skins which were sold in London at an average price of about 7 shillings each. The seals upon this group do not migrate. I observed the birth of pups during fre- quent intervals during all the time I was there, and from the size of those a little older it was apparent that they are born at all seasons of 486 OTHER SEAL HERDS. the year. They live in deep caves under the cliffs, seldom going into the sun. Many of those obtained by me were pulled out of these places with long gaffs and killed. We slaughtered old and young of both sexes. These seals are browner and in other respects quite different from those obtained in Alaska, yet they are the true fur-seal. During the past winter I have made a second voyage as master of the schooner Hancock to the southern waters in search of seals. I ar- rived at Rees Islet, off the coast of southern Chile (latitude 46° 45/ south, longitude 75° 45’ west) and remained there from December 1 to De- cember 17, 1891, but obtained only one seal. I learned that seal still breed there in considerable numbers, but the Chileans are accustomed to visit this islet at an earlier time than the date of my visit, while the pups are young, and to kill all they can obtain. In 1880 Capt. Mills, of the schooner La Ninfa, visited this islet and obtained a small catch, and I am credibly informed and believe that more than 12,000 seals have since been obtained there. On my return voyage I touched at Juan Fernandez (latitude 24° 21’ south, longitude 76° 10/ west), but got no seals, though there were a few seen about there in the water. On December 25, 1891, I landed at Massatueros Island (latitude 34° 11’ south, longitude 80° 50’ west) and got 19 fur-seal skins. ‘There were, L should think, about 200 or 500 seals on the island when I arrived there, but as they went into the water, and did not comeon shore again during my stay, I could not se- eure them. The pups at Massafueros are born in October, I think. They were old enough to swim when I was there. A few days later I touched at St. Felix and St. Ambrose islands (latitude 26°10’ south, longitude 80° west) and saw two fur-seals. Findlay’s South Pacific Directory states that there were formerly large herds of fur-seals on these islands. I touched also at Guadalupe Islands, but found nothing. The Inter- national Company have had the lease of these islands for several years past, and, as I am informed and believe, obtained some skins there as late as last year, but upon the occasion of my recent visit, the island was deserted by both seals and men; only a few goats remained. Some eighteen years ago several thousand seals were taken on the Guadalupe Islands off the coast of Mexico, but Tsaac Liebes, p. 515. their hunting being unrestricted, they were prac- tically exterminated inside of three years. So much so that a vessel visiting these islands some.four months ago was only able to secure 3 fur-seals, and the captain states that he does not think that even these would have been obtained had it not been for the large number of caves on that particular island, which probably gave shelter to a few of the animals while the extermination was being prac- ticed. * * * The Galapagos Island rookery was much larger than the Guadelupe, and the animals have also become nearly extinct there by reason of unrestricted hunting. Several vessels have visited the rookeries in the vicinity of Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan, and the last vessel returned from the latter place only last week with a catch of twenty-six skins, repre- senting a seven months’ cruise. Heretofore some expeditions went from this port to the Shetland Islands, but their catches were so small that in the last few years no hunting has been done in that vicinity, it being understood that the animal is extinct there, THE RUSSIAN HERD. 487 We left on the Hancock in October, 1891, to go on a sealing expe- dition in the south seas. We started in sealing off the coast of Patagonia and sealed in those seas — Caleb Lindahl, p. 456. until March. The seals are nearly all killed off - down there, so that we got only about 20 skins. Itis no use for vessels to go there sealing any more. I was there twelve years ago on a seal- ing expedition and the rookeries were full of seals. Now they have most all gone. They never gave the seals a chance to breed there. They shot them as soon as they came up on the rocks. * * * If the seals on the South Shetland Islands had been protected, I think they would have been there by the million, because in one year they took 300,000 seals from the Shetland Islands, THE RUSSIAN HERD. Page 220 of The Case. My first ideas of the areas of seal rookeries were gathered on the Pribilof Islands. Afterwards, upon going to the Commander Islands, I was struck with the com- parative insignificance of the rookeries upon the latter group; yet we have been able to secure the catch, as shown by the appended statement, not only without detriment, but, as I believe, with positive benefit to the rookeries. I can not think, therefore, that the same methods pursued under my direction upon the Pribilof group worked any other result, and in this conclusion I am borne out by the testimony of every one conversant with the matter. The history of sealing upon Robben Island substantiates the con- clusion in regard to the other groups. From information gathered from various sources [ learn that the Robben Bank was first visited and ex- ploited by whalers about 1852 or 1853, and that in two seasons they obtained some 50,000 or 60,000 skins, almost completely “cleaning it out.” I understood for several years thereafter the occasional vessel which touched there found the rookeries practically deserted. In 1870 the expedition in the bark Mauna Loa went to the island and secured about 15,000 seals. There was at this time no restriction upon the killing. In 1871, in August, I think it was, the lease being already in force, I visited the island for the first time, having previously sent a guard ship there to protect the rookeries. It is an insignificant affair, being only about 2,000 feet long and 200 feet wide. The rookeries were also very small, and contained at that time of all classes about 800 seals, as [ as- certained by a careful count, and in addition, a small number in the waters adjacent. I prohibited all killing from that year until such time as seemed prudent to resume, so as to give the rookeries opportunity to recuperate, leaving strict orders to the guard ship to protect them against molestation. Two years afterward it was evident that the rookeries had sufficiently recovered to warrant us in commencing seal- ing on a small scale, knowing that the killing of the useless male seals would accelerate the increase of the herd. From this time forward the herd showed a steady and healthy growth, enabling us to secure catches as per appended statement until 1873, when our guard was assaulted by the combined force of eleven marauding schooners and driven away. The rookeries were again badly depleted by these poach»rs. The fol- lowing year the Russian Government stationed a military force on the islands, which was removed every fall, but so early that marauders Gustave Niebaum, p. 203. (Commander Islands. ) 488 OTHER SEAL HERDS. came there nearly ever year after it had left and killed all the seals they were able to obtain, so nearly destroying the rookeries that we found it inexpedient to continue sealing after 1834 during the remain- der of our lease. FALKLAND ISLANDS. Page 221 of The Case. This fact was recognized by the Government of the islands, which an passed an ordinance in 1881 establishing a close see W. Budington, Pp. season from October to April for the islands ancl a the seas adjacent thereto. My understanding of this ordinance was that the Government would seize any vessel taking seals close to or within 15 or 20 miles of theislands. It certainly would not have been allowed to take seals between the Falklands and Beau- chene Island, 28 miles distant, which is considered part of the group. IT understood this ordinance was passed on the ground that the seal re- sorting to these islands was the property of the Government and there- fore it had a right to protect them everywhere. The Government, how- ever, gave licenses to certain parties at from £30 to £100 a year to take seals during the close season. On account of these licenses I think the effect of the ordinance is nullified, although the islands are well guarded, and seals have increased very little, if at all, because of allowing hunting to take place under these licenses. NEW ZEALAND. Page 222 of The Case. W.C. B. Stamp, p. 576. On the Lobos Islands and in New Zealand goy- ernmental regulations exist. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Page 224 of The Case. While I was at Cape Town [saw a gang start out for sealing on that coast; the rookeries I understood to be about 25 Gco. Comer, p.597. miles from Cape Town. ‘They are in the posses- sion or control of a company, as I was then in- formed, which has the exciusive right to take seals there. We did not dare to go to those rookeries, because sealing was prohibited, and we would not have been allowed to take them in the waters adjacent thereto. And I am told, although I know nothing about it, that regulations of W. C. B. Stamp, p. 576. SOME kind have been made in the colony of the } Cape of Good Hope. NEWFOUNDLAND REGULATIONS, Page 225 of The Case. I am opposed to second trips to the seal fishery, as I consider they are calculated to destroy the species, as all the Jas. G. Joy, p. 591. seals killed on such trips are old and mature seals and at least 75 per cent of them are female seals. NEWFOUNDLAND REGULATIONS. 489 Tam now speaking of harp-seals. They are principally shot on the ice, but when the ice packs they are killed with bats. When shot on open or floating ice a large number of them escape into the water and die from bleeding. I should say that for every seal shot and captured three escape wounded to die in the water. I have seen ten seals on one pan shot ‘and wounded and all escaped. To kill and capture the seal the bullet must lodge in the head; if it strikes any part of the body the seal will manage to get to the edge of the pan and escape into’ the water. I know from my own knowledge that the number of seals brought in on second trips is yearly decreasing, and that the fishery is being ‘depleted by the prosecution of this trip. Apart from the number of old, ma- ture, and female seals destroyed, the hunting necessary for their cap- ture prevents the male and female coming together as soon as they otherwise would, and makes the whole species more wary and more difficult to capture each year, so much so that even at a distance of from 4 to 5 miles the smoke of a steamer blowing over the ice in the direction of the seals will cause them immediately to leave the ice and take to the water. On the first trip a good many seals are shot in the water, as at that season of the year, the month of March, they are fat and will float, but on the second trip, in April, they are seldom fired atin the water, for if shot they immediately sink. Except you are very close to them and very quick you can not secure one of them. The hood-seals are generally in families—male, female, and young. Seals have been taken the past season on the east coast of Green- land with8.S.G. shot in them. This kind of shot is only used by seal- ers on the Newfoundland coast. I can not speak of the percentage of seals taken on a “second trip,” nor of the sex. Nearly all the seals taken are bedlamers and old harps. The “second trip” Richard Pike, p. 592. generally covers the month of April. Nearly all Seals taken on the ‘second trip” are shot on open and floating ice. Very few are shot in the water, for if hit there is very little chance of their capture, as they sink immediately. They are seldom or never fired at in the water, for unless they are very close there is very little chance of their being recovered. Fully one-third of the seals shot on the ice are lost, for when wounded they manage to crawl to the edge of the pan and ‘into the water, and when once in the water they sink or die from their wounds. Seals shot in the water in the month of March can be recovered, as they are fat and in good condition, and float, but in the latter part of April, when shot, “they sink immediately. I am strongly against “ second trips,” as in my opinion they are causing a rapid decline in the industry, likely to lead to the extermination of the species by the killing of old and mature seals, and the destruction caused by the use of firearms. Some of the men resident in the northern harbors, who have been engaged in the actual killing of the seal, can give more par- ticular information asto the age and sex of the seals killed. The young harp-seal takes to the water about the 25th of Mare h, but when they “ride” the ice and the ice closes they are killed by batting—that i 1s, when the ice is jammed and they can not escape into the water. 490 ALASKAN HERD. LOBOS ISLANDS. Page 229 of The Case. The fur-seal rookery on Lobos [sland, off the mouth of the Rio de la Plata and belonging to the Republic of Uruguay, Article by Dr. J. A. Al- is one of the few that have escaped annihilation len, Vol. I, p. 397. at the hands of the seal-hunter. Many fur-seals were taken here prior to 1820. Captain Morrell (Voyages, p. 154) found men stationed there to take seals in 1524, and Capt. Weddell (Voyages, p. 142), writing in 1825, refers to Lobos Island as being farmed out by the Government of Montevideo for seal- ing purposes, under regulations designed to prevent the extermination of the seals. As evidence that the matter has been long managed with discretion may be cited the statistics given in the affidavits of Messrs. Emil Teichnann and Alfred Fraser (of the firm of C. M. Lampson & 6o., of London), which show that the catch for the last twenty years has averaged about 13,000 a year, or a total of some 250,000 fur-seal skins. This throws into strong relief the folly of the exterminating slaughter of fur-seals that has been waged unremittingly for nearly a century throughout the southern seas. CAPE HORN. Page 229 of The Case. Argentina also claimed possession of Staten Land at Cape Horn, and since about 1852 or 1883 we have not been allowed Geo. Comer, p. 597. to take seals at that point or in the waters near there, although the citizens of Argentina them- selves have taken seals there every year, aS I understand and believe. ALASKAWN HERD. NECESSITY OF ITS PROTECTION, Page 239 of The Case. 5. We are in thorough agreement that for industrial as well as for other obvious reasons it is incumbent upon all na- Joint report of Bering tions, and particularly upon those having direct Sea Conunission, p. 309 of commercial interests in fur-seals to provide for eho their proper protection and preservation. NECESSITY OF ITS PROTECTION. Opinions of naturalists. Page 240 of The Case. 14, The results of pelagic sealing may be thus summarized: (1) The : immense reduction of the herd at the Pribilof eis A. Allen, Pol. 1, Tsjands and its threatened annihilation. (2) The extermination of the Pribilof herd will be practi- cally accomplished within a few years if pelagic sealing is continued. (3) There will soon be too few seals left in the North Pacific and Ber- ing Sea to render pelagic sealing commercially profitable. (4) The harm already done can not be repaired in years, even if all sealing, OPINIONS OF NATURALISTS. 491 whether pelagic or at the islands, be strictly prohibited for a consid- erable period. I have read with great interest your report and conclusions about the causes of the decrease and the measures neces- sary for the restoration and permanent preserva- Dr. Carlos Berg, Vol. I, tion of the seal herd on the Pribilof Islands in 2: 4°. Bering Sea, and according to your wish I have the pleasure to let you know that from the standpoint of a naturalist I perfectly agree with you in considering your conclusions and recom- mendations justified and necessitated by the facts stated by you as a result of your special investigation on the above-named islands. By reason of the massacres of which it is the victim, this species is advancing rapidly toward its total and final de- struction, following the fatal road on which the eT ae ee PnGaE, Rhytina Stelleri, the Monachus tropicalis, and the = 7" Macrorhinus angustirostris have preceded it, to cite only the great mammifers which but recently abounded in the American seas. Now, the irremediable destruction of an eminently useful animal species, such as this one, is, to speak plainly, a crime of which we are rendering ourselves guilty toward our descendants. To satisfy our instincts of cupidity we voluntarily exhaust, and that forever, a source of wealth which, properly regulated, ought, on the contrary, to con- tribute to the prosperity of our own generation aud of those which will succeed it. When we live on our capital we can undoubtedly lead a gay and ex- travagant life; but how long does this foolish extravagance last?) And what is its to-morrow? Inextricable poverty. On the other hand, in caus- ing our capital to be properly productive, we draw from it constantly a splendid income, which does not, perhaps, give the large means dreamed of, but at least assures an honorable competency, to which the wise man knows how to accommodate himself. By prudent ven- tures or by a well-regulated economy he can even increase progres- sively his inheritance and leave to his children a greater fortune than he had himself received from his parents. It is evidently the same with the question which occupies us, and it is for our generation an . imperious duty to prevent the destruction of the fur-seal, to regulate strictly its capture—in a word, to perpetuate this source of wealth and to bequeath it to our descendants. It would be a very easy reply to your highly interesting treatise of the fur-seal, which you have been kind enough to sendus, when I only answered you that lagree with Prof. R. Collett, Vol. J, you entirely in all points. No doubt it would be 2: 421: the greatest value for the rookeries on the Pribilof Island, as well as for the preservation of the existence of the seal, if it would be possibie to stop the sealing at sea at all. But that will no doubt be very difficult, when so many nations partake in the sealing, and how that is to go about I can not know. My own countrymen are killing every year many thousands of seals and cysto phore on the ice barrier between Spitzbergen and Greenland, but never females with young; either are the old ones caught, or, and thatis the greatest num- ber, the young seals. But there is a close time, accepted by the difter- ent nations, just to prohibit the killing of the females with young. Perhaps a similar close time could be accepted in the Bering Sea, but that is a question about which I can not have any opinion. 492 ALASKAN HERD. I have followed with much attention the investigations which have been made by the Government of the United Dr. A. Milne Edwards, States on this subject. The reports of the com- Vol. I, p. 419. missioners sent to the Pribilof Islands have made known to naturalists a very large number of facts of great scientific interest, and have demonstrated that a regulated system of killing may be safely applied in the case of these herds of seals when there is a superfluity of males. What might be called a tax on celibacy was applied in this way in the most sa tisfactory manner, and the indefinite preservation of the species would have been assured, if the emigrants, on their way back to their breeding places, had not been attacked and pursued in every way. There is, then, every reason to turn to account the very complete in- formation which we possess on the conditions of fur-seal life in order to prevent their annihilation, and an international commission can alone determine the rules, from which the fishermen should not depart. It is both as a naturalist and as an old commissioner of fisheries that I beg to say once more that I most entirely and Dr. Henry H. Giglioli, most emphatically agree with you in the conclu- Vol. I, p. 425. sions and recommendations you come to in your re- port on the present condition of the fur-seal industry in the Bering Sea, with special reference to the causes of de- crease and the measures necessary for the restoration and permanent preservation of that industry, which conclusions and recommendations are fully supported and justified by the facts in the case. Tam far from attributing to myself a competent judgment regarding this matter, but considering all facts w hich you Dr. G. Harilaub, Vol. have so clearly and convincingly combined and I, p. 422. expressed, it seems to me that the measures you propose in order to prohibit the threatening decay of the northern fur-seal are the only correct ones promising an effective result, Regarding the object of your researches, I indorse your opinion that the decrease of the numbers of the fur-seal on the Dr. Emil Holub, Vol. Pribilof Islands has been caused by pelagic seal- I, p. 482. ing in the North Pacific and in the Bering Sea, and that this taking of the seals at sea has “to be stopped as early as possible. * * * If the pelagic sealing of the fur-seal is carried on still longer, like it has been executed during the last years, the pelagic sealing as a busi- ness matter and a “living” will soon cease by the full extermination ot the useful animal. Under such conditions I should say (looking at nothing but the preservation of the seals) that the best course Prof. T. H. Huxley, Would be to prohibit the taking of the fur-seals Vol. I, p. 412, anywhere except on the Pribilof Islands, and to limit the take to such percentage as experience proved to be consistent with the preservation of a good average stock. The furs would be in the best order, the waste of life would be least, and, if the system were honestly worked, there could be no danger of overfishing. OPINIONS OF NATURALISTS. 493 As to the pelagic sealing, it is evident that a systematic hunting of the seals in the open sea, on the way to and from or around the rookeries, will very soon cause the | Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Lill- complete extinction of this valuable, and, from sci- pecs and Prof. Baron ee Pe Sita i i ec ~ Adolf HE, Nordenskjold entific point of view, so extremely interesting [o7,"1, p, 498, , and important animal, especially as a great num- ber of the animals killed in this manner are pregnant ‘‘cows,” or “ cows” temporarily separated from their pups while seeking food in the vicinity of the rookery. Everyone having some experience in seal-hunting can also attest that only a relatively small part of the seals killed or seriously wounded in the open sea can in this manner be caught. We are therefore persuaded that a prohibition of pelagic sealing is a neces- sary condition for the prevention of the total extermination of the fur- seal. The only rational method of taking the fur-seal, and the only one that is not likely to result in the extermination of this valuable animal, is the one which has hith- Dr. Alfred Nehring, Vol. erto been employed on the Pribilof Islands under I, p. 421. the supervision of the Government. Any other method of taking the northern fur-seal should, in my opinion, be pro- hibited by international agreement. I should, at furthest, approve a local pursuit of the fur-seal, where it is destructive of the fisheries in its southern winter quarters. Iregard pelagie fur-sealing as very unwise; it must soon lead to a decrease, bordering on extermination, of the fur-seal. No doubt the free pelagic sealing is a cause which will act to the destruction of the seal herds, and to that it must be put a stop as soon as possible. But, at the Prof. Count Tommaso same time, I think that the yearly killing of about Salvadori, Vol. f, p. 423. 100,000 young males on the Pribilof Islands must have some influence on the diminution of the herds, especially pre- venting the natural or sexual selection of the stronger males, which would follow if the young males were not killed in such a great num- ber. So that, with the stopping of the pelagic sealing, I think that, at least for a few years, also the slaughter of so many young males in the Pribilof Islands should be prohibited. Philip Lutley Sclater, PH. D., secretary of the Zodlogical Society of London, being duly sworn doth depose and say that in his opinion as a naturalist— Dr. Philip L. Sclater, 1. Unless proper measures are taken to restrict Vol. J, p. 413. the indiscriminate capture of the fur-seal in the North Pacific he is of opinion that the extermination of this species will take place in a few years, as it has already done in the case of other species of the same group in other parts of the world. Seals are, unfortunately migratory animals, and set out on their journeys during the winter months. This is es- pecially true of the pregnant females. They are Dr. 4. von Midden- then hunted with constantly increasing rapacity, don, Vol. I, p. 430. and are killed in the open sea by freebooters from all parts of the world. It is evident that the only remedy for such a state of things can be afforded by international protection. A94 ALASKAN HERD. Having read with eager and critical attention the memoir you have addressed to me upon the condition of the fur- Dr. Leopold von geal rookeries on the Pribilof Islands in Bering Schrenck, Vol. 1, p. 423. Sea, the causes of decrease and the measures nec- essary for the restoration and permanent preser- vation of the seal herd, I can not but completely agree with you in con- sidering the conclusions and recommendations you arrived at quite justified and necessitated by the facts. Iam also persuaded that the pelagic sealing, if pursued in the same manner in future, will neces- sarily end with the extermination of the fur-seal. Opinions of London Furriers. Page 243 of The Case. And deponent further says that, in his judgment, if this pelagic seal- ing be not prohibited, it is a question of but a few Alfred Fraser, p. 558. years, probably not more than three, when the in- dustry will cease, by reason of the extermination of the seals in the same way in which they have been exterminated on the South Sea islands by reason of no restrictions being imposed upon their killing. Deponent has no doubt but that it is necessary in order to maintain Sin YE WE Data, a the industry that steps should be taken to pre- 566. serve the existence of the seal herd in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea from the fate which has overtaken the herds in the South Seas. Of the steps, if any, which are necessary, in order to accomplish this result, deponent does not feel that he is in a position to state, as he has no personal knowledge of the regulations which at the present time exist, but it is obvious to deponent’s mind that regulations of some kind, imposed by somebody who has authority and power to enforce them, are necessary to prevent the rookeries in the North Pacifie Ocean from suffering the fate of the rookeries in the Southern Atlantic and Pacific seas, where, deponent is informed, no restrictions were at any time even attempted to be in- posed. Deponent says that the preservation of the seal herds found in the Northern Pacific region is necessary to the con- Walter Martin, p. 570. tinuance of the fur- seal business, as those herds are the principal sources of supply of seal skins left in the world; and, from his general knowledge of the customs of that business, deponent feels justified in expressing the opinion that stringent regulations of some kind are necessary in order to prevent those herds from disappearing like the herds which formerly existed in large numbers off the South Pacific seas. Specifically what regulations are necessary deponent does not feel himself in a position to state. That the maintenance of this business necessarily depends upon the preservation of the seal herds frequenting the Henry Poland, p. 571. northern Pacific regions from being overtaken by the destruction which was the fate of the seals formerly found in large quautities in the South Atlantic and South Pa- cific oceans. OPINIONS OF LONDON FURRIERS. 495 That the continuance of the fur-seal business depends, in deponent’s judgment, obviously upon the continued existence of the fur-seal herds from which the skins are de- — Geo. Rice, p. 574. rived. That the question of the preservation of the fur-seal herd has, of course, engaged deponent’s attention and he has kept as close a watch on it as he was able to do without being on the ground. In regard to what might be done to preserve the herd deponent does not feel that he knows all the fae ts, and in consequence thereof it is difficult for him to express an opinion as to the manner in which the seal herds ought to be preserved or what regulations ought to be imposed for that purpose, but judging from the fact that for many yeai 8 100,000 seals were caught upon the Pribilof Islands without injury to ‘the herds resorting to the rookeries on those islands, it is fair to conclude that unless some other cause intervened to diminish those herds killing that number of seals upon the islands would not have been detrimental to the herd. The continual existence of the fur-seal business is dependent, in de- ponent’s judgment, upon the preservation of the seal herds frequenting the Northern Pacific 1. C.B. Stamp, p. 576. regions, and it is also a most important element in the industry that the supply of seal skins coming to the market each year should be regular and constant. Deponent further says that some regulations are necessary for the preservation of the seal herds frequenting the Northern Pacific region, because it is a well-known fact that in the absence of any such regu- lations the seal herds which were formerly found in the South Atlantic and Pacific seas have been practically exterminated. Deponent further says that the maintenance of this business, to his mind, obviously depends upon the preservation of the seal herds resorting to Bering Sea from the Emil Teichmann, p. 582 destruction which has overtaken the seal herds which were formerly found in the southern regions, and that whatever is necessary to be done to preserving the seal herds in Bering Sea ought to be done; but deponent having no knowledge of the business of killing seals, and having no scientific knowledge on the subject as a naturalist, is not in a position to relate what laws or regulations, in addition to those already existing, are necessary, if any such are nec- essary, in order to accomplish this desirable result. Opinions of French Furriers. Page 244 of The Case. That the total production of seal-skins, which during the existence of the concession of the Alaska Company (which concession has now expired) amounted annually — Emin Hertz, p. 587. to 150,000 skins, is now hardly more than 70,000, coming from Alaska and the Copper Islands; that the consequence is a loss for everyone connected with the trade, for while there was an annual production of 150,000 skins there were, the deponen+ estimates, at least from two to three thousand persons engaged in this industry in Europe, and the natural consequence of the production having di- minished by about one-half is that only about one-half the number of persons are required in the industry. 496 ALASKAN HERD. That the said firm has often been informed that in order to capture one animal the persons engaged in the chase are Emin Hertz, p. 588. frequently obliged to kill or wound three or four, That under these circumstances and in conse- quence of the destruction of the females, there is no doubt in the mind of deponent that the race is in great dan ger of being exterminated, to the profit of a few individuals and to the detriment of an important industry which up to the present has supplied the means of livelihood to thousands of persons in Hurope and America. That the said firm believes it to be to everyone’s interest that the countries interested in the question (America and Russia) should take measures to safeguard their rights from the point of view of the capture of the seals, and that if not, if this pursuit in the open sea continues as in the past two years, the said firm firinly believes that in a short time the seal will exist only as a souvenir and will be completely extermi- nated, That this industry, which has produced during twenty years nearly 25,000,000 of franes annually, will have disappeared, owing to this cause, to the detriment of a very great number of persons. That we firmly believe that if the slaughter of the Northwest coast fur-seals is not stopped or regulated, the Alaska Léon Révillon, p. 590. fur-seals will disappear entirely, as is the case. with the seals of the Shetland Islands, from where hardly a single seal has been received during the last ten years. That the annihil: ation of the seals would be a very great loss for our country, for the far of the seal can not be replaced by any other. It would also be a great loss for the workmen who are specially trained for the work upon these skins. Opinions of American Furriers. Page 245 of The Case. In our opinion unless stringent measures be adopted on the part of those having authority on waters adjacent to these aan G. Gunther's Sons, p. islands and on all contiguous bodies, the fur- ~ seal of Alaska will soon be exterminated and this valuable industry, alike of great importance to the people of Europe and America, will have received its deathblow. And is of the opinion that open-sea seal fishing should be absolutely prohibited, and that if the same is not done the . Herman Licbes, p.514. seals will within two, or at the utmost three, years be exterminated. This opinion is based upon the assumption that the present restriction imposed by the United States and Russia on the number, age, and sex of the seals killed upon the islands owned by them respectively are to be maintained. I am of the opinion that the nations interested should arrive at some -o7 agreement by which the killing of seals in the Samuel Ullmann, p.527. water will be stopped. From my knowledge of the sealing business [ am satisfied that the seals will be entirely exterminated unless protected Elkan Wassermann, p. from the indiscriminate pursuit in the waters that 453. has been going on for the last few years. OPINIONS OF AMERICAN FURRIERS. 497 Deponent believes and says that if unrestricted pelagic sealing be allowed to continue throughout the whole of Be- ring Sea, not only will the United States Govern- ©. 4. Williams, p. 539. ment soon be deprived of a considerable annual revenue, and over 2,000 English workmen of skilled employment, ot which they now have a practical monopoly, but a portion of the civil- ized world will hereafter be deprived of a useful and valuable fur-bear- ing animal; and a great and irreparable injury will thus be done to various legitimate industries which have been built up by the author- ized lessees of Russia and the United States and the firm of ©. M,. Lampson & Co., which industries are confined to one locality and which if fostered promise to continue in existence for an indefinite length of time; while in return for such injury there will be only a comparatively slight benefit of a few years’ duration to a comparatively small number of men. It is safe to say that these animals are all United States property, and having been born on United States soil and reared in United States waters in the twenty-one C. A. Williams, p. 543, years that have elapsed since the cession of Alaska by Russia, and having the instinct of regular return to their home, which accords them a status in law, they would seem to be entitled to the protection of their Government, while they are in the acknowledged boundaries of their country. To open the sea and the rookeries to the taking of seal by any who choose to seek them would be simply to surrender the herd to destruction. Buta danger menaces — ¢, A. Williams, p. 547. the system and the seals which the Government . alone can avert, viz, the intrusion of foreign vessels with armed crews in the waters of Bering Sea, with intent to kill seal in the water be- tween the Aleutian chain of islands and the Pribilof group. In this water the seal rest and sport after their long migration; ‘here the females, heavy with young, slowly nearing the land, sleep soundly at sea by intervals, reluctant to haul out of the cool water upon the rook- eries until the day and the hour which limits the period of gestation ;” here, with gun and spear and drag net, these marauders desire to reap their harvest of destruction and for their selfish greed extermi- nate the animal which now, under the wise policy of Congress, plays so important a part in the economy and distribution of commerce. Three years of open sea would suffice in these waters to repeat the story of the southern ocean and the fur-seal would be of the past, and a valuable industry would be obliterated forever. Let the sea be open to all commerce that harbors no evil intent, but protect the seal life that swims in its waters and “hauls” on its shores. Let the sea be as free as the wind to all legitimate commerce, but protect the unique possession of seal life that harms none and benefits thousands, Opinions of Pelagic Sealers. Page 246 of The Case, The extermination of the animals and of the industry will be swift and sure unless the female seals are protected from the devastation now going on, and I donot Jno. Armstrong, p. 2. believe it possible to protect them as they should be unless the North Pacific as well as Bering Sea is included in any measures adopted to this end. 32 BS 498 ALASKAN HERD. Q. Isit your opinion, if sealing continues unrestricted, that they will soon be exterminated ?—A, They will, in my opin- Geo. Ball, p. 483. ion, not be entirely exterminated should sealing continue there as usual, but it will make the bust- ness of seal-catching so unprofitable that no one will desire to engage in it, I think. It is only a question of three or four years, if this indiscriminate slaughtering of seals is not stopped, they will be- Martin Benson, p. 405. come exterminated. It is not alone in Bering Sea that the pups and cows are destroyed. Keep all vessels out of these waters, and let the Wm. Brennan, p. 363. same number of vessels as are now afloat hunt seals in the North Pacific, and in a few years there will be none in Bering Sea. If the present number of vessels en- gaged in sealing is permitted to continue in the business from two to five years longer I think the seals will be exterminated, or nearly so. Lam certain the seals are doomed to extinction unless some immediate action is taken to protect them from the slaughter that is now going on. The sealers care nothing about preserving the seals, and say that the smaller the catch is the more valuable the skins will become in the market, and the higher the prices paid for them. In their whole con- duct of the business they are controlled by the desire to kill as many as possible in order that they may enhance the value of future caiches. If pelagic sealing is continued, especially with Henry Brown, p.318. guns, in afew years the seal herd will became com- mercially destroyed. Killing seals without reference to age or sex is bound to exterminate i the species in a very short time, and it seems to a W, Budingion, De ine, that unless something is done in the northern : sealing grounds the industry will soon be as un- profitable as it is in the Southern Hemisphere. Q. Is it your opinion, if sealing continues unre- Danl. Claussen, p. 412. stricted, that they will soon be exterminated ?— A. Ithink so; yes, sir. And if something is not done to protect them from slaughter in the 7, D | ae a An ~Q WI + a : t acific ar ring Sea, they will all be gon Peter Collins, p.413. North Pacific and Bering Sea, they will all be gone in a few years. If there had been strict regulations enforced, allowing us to kill only re Te St islands there will be no seals left for the Indians. I think the Great Father should stop all schooners from hunting seal in Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, so the Schkatatin, p. 243. seal would become plentiful again and the Indian hunters would again have a chance to kill them. I think the Great Father should stop all sealing by schooners in the } g by North Pacific Ocean and the seal would again be- Showoosch, p. 244. come plenty, so the Indians could again kill plenty of them. Jack Shucky, p. 289. If the schooners are allowed to hunt seal any longer the seal will soon all be gone. I think that if schooners were stopped from sealing in Bering Sea OR Martin Singay, p. 268, *24 the North Pacific Ocean seal would again be- come plentiful. I think the schooners should be prohibited from sealing in the North eer Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. If that was done ada a a seal would become plentiful along the coast. I think the schooners should be stopped hunting seal in tle open waters of the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, and Skeenong, p. 244. if they are not stopped at once the Indians who hunt fur-seal on the coast of Alaska for a living vill become very poor and probably starve to death. Think if sealing by the schooners in the open waters of the North - — a Pacific and Bering Sea was prohibited the seal — cies UR aairh, Dale wool d ciptait become plentiful along the coast. Think if all pelagic seal hunting was stopped the seal would in- fine Wike nee along the coast and become plentiful once Charlie Wank, p. 273. i more. Billy Williams, p. 301. Hunting seal by white man must be stopped or the seal will soon be all gone. I think that all vessels should be prohibited from hunting seal in the water, to give the seal a chance to increase again. Pred Wiison, p.301. If something is not done the seal will soon be all goue and will soon be as scarce as the sea-otter. OPINIONS OF OTHER WITNESSES. 505 J think if all pelagic seal hunting was stopped Michael Wooskoot, p. seal would soon become plentiful on the coast. 275. And unless they are stopped from hunting them in schooners, the seal, like the sea-otter, will soon be all gone. Billy Yeitachy, p. 392. Opinions of Other Witnesses. Page 248 of The Case. And should pelagic sealing in the North Pacific and Bering Sea con- tinue, it 1s only a question of a very few years when seal in these seas, and especially at the seal JV. C. Coulson, p. 415. islands, will be a thing of the past, tor they are being rapidly destroyed by the killing of females in the open sea. If the seal life is to be preserved for commercial purposes, the seals must be protected, not only in the Bering Sea, but in the water along the Pacific coast from the WV. C. Coulson, p. 416. Aleutian Passes to the Coluinbia River. I believe the days of the fur-seal are pretty much over, and if the remnant is to be saved, they must be protected in the waters of the North Pacific as well asin those — Leander Cox, p. 417. ot Bering Sea, from the rifle and shotgun of the hunter. Iam of the opinion that it will take careful nursing for some years, under the most favorable circumstances, to restore the number of seals to anything like what it was prior to 1878. Ihave had ample opportunity to form an opinion in regard to the effect upon the herd of the killing of female seals. The female brings forth a single offspring annu- JW. H. Dall, p. 24. ally, and hence the repair of the loss by death is not rapid. It is evident that the injury to the herd from the killing of a single female, that is, the producer, is far greater than from the death of a male, as the seal is polygamous in habit. The danger to the herd, therefore, is just in proportion to the destruction of female life. Kill- ing in the open waters is peculiarly destructive to this animal. No discrimination of sex in the water is possible, the securing of the prey when killed is, under the best of circumstances, uncertain, and as the peviod of gestation is at least eleven months, and of nursing three or four months, the death of a female at any time means the destruction of two, herself and the foetus, or, when nursing, of three, herself, the nursing pup, and the foetus. Ail killing of females is a menace to the herd, and as soon as such killing reaches the point, as it inevitably must if permitted to continue, where the annual increase will not make good the yearly loss, then the destruction of the herd will be equally rapid and certain, regarded from a commercial standpoint, though a few individuals might survive. I have conversed with a great many persons who have been engaged in sealing in the northern waters, and their uni- form testimony is to the effect that the open sea Jas. H. Douglass, p. 419. hunting is rapidly destroying the fur-seals, and that it is only a question of a few years until they entirely disappear if the pelagic sealing continues. 506 ALASKAN HERD. I am of the opinion, from what I know of the habits and nature of the fur-seal and what [ have learned of open-sea seal- Saml. Falconer, p. 162. ing, that the Pribilof seal herd should be pro- tected in all waters which they frequent. Other- wise it is only a matter of a very short time before they will be exter- mninated. If the seals become extinct, I can not conceive what these natives would do for a livelihood; they know no other oe- Saml. Falconer, p.163. Cupation save seal driving, which has been pur- sued by them and their ancestors for a century. The destruction of the seal herd would result in removing their sole means of sustenance and in their being plunged into poverty, and prob- able return to barbarism. The only way to keep them from starvation would be to remove them from the islands, and for the Government to support them. The Pribilof seal herd should be protected, both in Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, because the injury to seal N. A. Glidden, p. 111. life, bringing about a decrease in the size of the herd, is caused by the slaughter of females in the open sea. If the seals are thus protected, and the existing methods and regulations are carried out on the isiands, the seal herd will not decrease, but on the contrary, in my opinion, will increase. If the seals are not protected in these waters the herd will be exterminated in a very short time. It is only, therefore, by protecting the seals everywhere in the sea and ocean that seal life can be preserved. The natives, for whom I am entitled to speak, as being one of them, and receiving a share trom the proceeds of the Alex. Hansson, p. 116, Sealeries, protest that the United States Govern- ment ought to have protected the rookeries against deep-sea seal fishing, because we believe the seals rightly belong to us and shouid not be killed when they are away from their island home. We earnestly pray for the protection to which we are justly entitled. The ruthless practice of killing seals by shooting them in the sea is not only extravagant in the loss of skins, but is M. A. Healy, p. 28. also a wanton and useless destruction of a valuable and useful animal, and must necessarily soon lead to its extermination if not discontinued, It will be readily seen that the demoralization produced by a sealing fleet of fifty to a hundred vessels with from 1,000 to 2,000 men scattered over the sea, hunting and shooting indiscriminately, would soon put an end to all seal life in those waters. Owing to the decrease of fur-seals on our own coast, marine hunters have, during the last few years, turned their atten- Isaac Liebes, p. 455. tion to the Asiatic waters, and are now hunting them there. These Asiatic seals have their breed- ing grounds on the Commander Islands and Robben Banks. Last year several additions were made to the Asiatic fleet, and large catches were secured in those waters, including the fitting out of still further expeditions this season for the same business. The distance is so great from this coast, and typhoons are so liable to be encountered, that OPINIONS OF OTHER WITNESSES. 507 much larger vessels are fitted out, and equipped with more boats to each vessel than on the American side of the Pacific. Unless restricted, they will, in a very few years, by the destruction of the breeding seals, deplete these rookeries, as they have those of Alaska. In fact, two years ago last year, this depletion had already become apparent, and last year the Russian officer in charge ordered the catch to be reduced. I feel convinced, and it is the opinion of others familiar with the busi- ness, that it will be impossible for the company having the privilege of sealing there, to take this year even the 30,000, to which the quota is now reduced. The business of pelagic sealing, if permitted to be carried on in the northern waters, must soon result in the extermi- nation of the seal life and the destruction of a J. M. Morton, p. 69. great and valuable industry. It must produce untold poverty and distress among the native people of the seal islands, and in various adverse ways affect the material interests of other Alaska settlements and comiunities. As one result of my study of seal life on the islands I have come to the conclusion that if pelagic sealing in Bering Sea and North Pacific should continue for a pe- 8. R. Nettleton, p, 76. riod of five years to the same extent as now prac- ticed, seal life upon the Pribilof Islands will have become extinct. In contemplating this destruction, the natives of the seal islands are most deeply interested, for they are wholly de- pendent upon the seals for a livelihood. Thean- 4. H. McIntyre, p. 53. cestors of the three hundred people now upon the islands were taken there more than one hundred years ago, and their descendants have been born and bred to their occupation of seal kill- ing and know no other. Prior to 1868 the Russians furnished them only indifferently well with coarse articles of food and clothing which the seals did not supply, but left them to live in unhealthy conditions in their damp underground houses, often unsupplied with fuel and not infrequently short of food. Under the liberal management of the Americans they have been provided with comfortable wooden houses, an abundance of coal to heat them, warm clothing, well-taught schools in comfortable schoolhouses, attractive churches in the Greco-Russian faith, to which they are devotedly attached, and, in short, with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of civilization. With these sur- roundings they have made remarkable progress, rendered possible by their income of more than $40,000 per annum from the seal fisheries, without which they are left in absolute poverty, and must either leave their island home in search of other employment of which they know nothing, rely upon the charity of the Government for meager support, or starve. They rightly charge these dire alternatives upon the pe- lagic seal hunters, who have ruthlessly destroyed the herd in which every native had a certain vested right, in the exercise of which he deserved the protection of the Government into whose care he has come. And it is plain to anyone familiar with this animal that extermina- tion must soon féllow unless some restrictive meas- ures are adopted without delay. tt a. 508 ALASKAN HERD. There can be no question that if the seals are not protected, and this ahh nnn tremendous slaughter that is now going on in the eae ae NRE Son 1S Ob immediately stopped, there will be a to- 495. tal destruction of the herd ina very short while. I suppose that if everyone could kill seal in the Bering in a few years Theo. T. Williams, quot- the seal would all be dead except the males, and ing Capt. Olsen, p.505. in time the seals would be exterminated. MEANS NECESSARY. Page 250 of The Case. The maintenance of the birthrate, the vital and essential element in ; : the preservation and perpetuation of the herd, re- Pts sh leg >. 351 a of quires the preservation of the whole of the elass hadi. ot breeding females, while only a small number of virile males are necessary or at all concerned in the matter. This is the great essential difference between the importance of the life of the fem: ‘ale and that of the male to the conservation of the herd, and it is the fundamental proposition on which hangs the solution of the whole problem. ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING. Page 251 of The Case. if the destruction of seals at sea is wholly suppressed it will result in restoring the rookeries to their former produe- W. C. Allis, p. 99. tiveness. But no partial measure of protection Should be undertaken, because it can not to be enforced. N. W. Andersen, p.223. For the preservation of seal life pelagic hunt- ing should be stopped. Andrew Anderson, p. I believe that in order to preserve fur-seal life 218. pelagic hunting should be stopped absolutely. C.H. Anderson, p. 206. And am of the opinion that if such sealing were : absolutely suppressed the species would again in- crease. Johnny Baronovitch, p. I think if the schooners were all stopped from 276. hunting seal they would become plentiful once more, and the Indians could catch them as they used to. Wilton C. Bennett, p. I think that all pelagic hunting should be 357. stopped, so that seal would have a chance to in- crease. I think schooners should be prohibited from hunting seal in the North Pacific Ocean to give them a chance to in- Edward Benson, p. 278. erease again. AB-OLUTE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING. 5O9 Deponent says while he does not wish to express any opinion upon the matters which are in controversy, that never- theless, looking at the question of preserving the , §. Bevington. p.553. seals from a natural-history point of view alone, and having no regard whatever to the rights of any individuals or nations, but looking at the matter simply from the point of view of how best to preserve the seals, he has no hesitation in saying that the best way to accomplish that object would be to prohibit absolutely the kill- ing of all seals except upon the islands, and, furthermore to limit the killing of seals on the islands to the male species at particular times, and to limit the numbers of the males to be so killed. If, however, the rights of individuals are to be considered, and sealing in the open sea is to be allowed, then deponent thinks that the number of vessels to be sent out by each country ought to be limited, and the number of seals which may be caught by each vessel should be specified. Deponent says that one reason why he thinks the killing of seals in the open sea should be prohibited and all killing limited to the islands is because deponent is of the opinion that when seals are killed in the open sea a large number must be killed which are not recovered, and consequently that the herds must suffer much greater loss than is measured by the skins of the seals caught or coming to market. Deponent further says that one reason for this opinion is that he has had some small experience in shooting hair seals in the Scilly Islands, and has himself personally killed hair seals at a distance of 40 or 50 yards, which sank before he could reach them. Hair-seals are of the same general family as the fur-seals, and he has no doubt that the same thing occurs, and must occur, when the fur-seals are killed on the open sea. It is my opinion that for the proper preservation J. 4. Bradley, p. 227. of fur-seal life, all pelagic hunting should be stopped absolutely. I am of the opinion that the Pribilof seal herd Charles Bryant, p. 9. should be protected throughout Bering Sea and also in the North Pacific Ocean. In my judgment pelagic seal hunting should be absolutely prohibited both in Bering Sea and the North Pacifie. In case there is not such prohibition the Pribilof seals, N. Buynitsky, p. 22. herd will be either exterminated in a very short time or else the few which escape from the indiscriminate slaughter of pelagic hunters will be driven from the Pribilof Islands. It will be necessary to prevent at once further open-sea or coastwise killing of seals, both in Bering Sea and northern Pacifie Ocean, if they are to save them from extinction on the Pribilof Islands. * * * And if the pelagic hunter and his destructive methods were ban- ished from the waters of the Bering Sea and North Pacific it would be but a few years when these islands would again be teeming with seal life. I do not think it possible for seals to exist for any length of time if the present slaughter continues. The killing of the females means the death of her born or un- Jas. L. Carthcut, p. 409. born pup, and it is not reasonable to expect that 510 ALASKAN HERD this immense drain on the herds can be continued without a very rapid decrease in their numbers, and which practically means exter- mination within avery few years. If the seals are to be saved there must be no killing at any time in the waters of Bering Sea, and it is also very important for their preservation that no females be killed in the Noith Pacific. They must be protected in both of these waters or they will be exterminated. Knowing that pelagic hunting is the cause of the decrease in fur-seal life, we are in favor of its entire and absolute sup- ? pression and prohibition in order that said fur- seal life may be saved from extermination. Vassili Chichinoff et al. p. 219. Peter Church, p. 257. I think all pelagic sealing should be stopped, so that seal would have a chance to increase. Jno. C. Clement, p. 258. And if pelagic sealing was stopped altogether, the seal would then become plentiful. After twenty-two years’ experience in Alaska in the fur business I have no hesitation in saying that if the fur-seal M. Cohen, p. 225. species is to be saved from extinction all pelagic seal-hunting must cease, as it is absolutely neces- sary that the female fur-seal should be allowed access to a rookery in order safely to deliver her young. Upon the amount of protection depends the safety of the seal herd in the future. If protected only upon the Pribilof W. H. Dall, p. 24. Islands extermination will be rapid; if they are protected upon the islands and in the waters of Bering Sea also the decrease will be slower, but ultimate extinction will probably follow. ‘To preserve them completely it is necessary that they should be protected in all waters, which they frequent at all times. Killing upon land can be regulated and interference with the females rigidly prohibited, but all killing at sea is indiscriminate and uncon- trollable, and hence fatal in its consequences if carried on to any serious extent. Regarded as a factor in the world’s commerce, extinction means, and is here used to mean, a diminution so great that the catch would not pay for hunting, without reference to the fact that a few scattered individuals may long survive the general mass. Wm. Fosler, p. 221. In my opinion, in order to preserve the fur-seals, all pelagic sealing should be stopped. Deponent further says that in his judgment the absolute prohibition of pelagic sealing, @. ¢., the killing of seals in the. Alfred Fraser, p. 557. open sea, whether in the North Pacifie or the Bering Sea, is necessary to the preservation of the seal herds now surviving, by reason of the fact that most of the females so killed are heavy with young, and that necessarily the :ivrease of the species is diminished by their killing. And further, from the fact that a large number of females are killed in the Bering Sea while on the seare h for food after the birth of their young, and that in consequence thereof the pups die for want of nourishment. Deponent has no per- sonal knowledge of the truth of this statement, but he has information in respect of the same from persons who have been on the Pribilof Is- ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING. 511 lands, and he believes the same to be true. Deponent further says that this opinion is based upon the assumption that the present restriction imposed by Russia and the United States on the killing of seals in their respective islands are to be maintained, otherwise it would be neces- sary to impose such restrictions as well as to prohibit pelagic sealing in order to preserve the herds. Tam, therefore, of the opinion that pelagic sealing should be abso- lutely prohibited both in Bering Sea and the North Pacifie Ocean. If this is done andafew Chas. J. Goff, p. 118. years are allowed the seal herd to recover from the enormous slaughter of the past seven years, the Pribilof Islands will produce their 100,000 skins as heretofore for an indefinite period. We think that for the proper preservation of Nicoli Gregoroff et al., the fur-seal species, all pelagic hunting should be ”: 234, stopped absolutely. It is my opinion, that for the proper preservation of fur-seal life all pelagic hunting should be prohibited and stopped absolutely, as I think the female seal should have — 4. J. Guild, p, 282. access to a rookery in order safely to deliver her young. I think that a close season at the Pribilof Islands for several years and the absolute suppression of pelagic sealing will cause the fur-seal species, or such of them as Chas. J. Hague, p. 208. frequent the Pribilof Islands, to increase, though Slowly, to their former numbers. Unless [pelagic hunting is| discontinued they J. AM. Hays, p. 27. will soon become so nearly extinct as to be worth- less for commercial purposes. I firmly believe that the fur-seal industry at the Pribilof Islands can be saved from destruction only by a total prohi- tion against killing seals not only in the waters MM. A. Healy, p. 28. of the Bering Sea but also during their annual immigration northward in the Pacific Ocean. This conclusion is based upon the well-known fact that the mother seals are slaughtered by the thousands in the North Pacific while on their way to the islands to give birth to their young, and extinction must necessarily come to any species of animal where the female is con- tinually hunted and killed during the period required for gestation and rearing of hef young; as now practiced there is no respite to the female seal from the relentless pursuit of the seal hunters, for the schooners close their season with the departure of the seals from the northern sea, and then return home, refit immediately and start out upon a new voyage in February or March, commencing upon the coast of Califorma, Oregon, and Washington, following the seals northward as the season advances into the Bering Sea. It is my belief that in order to preserve fur-seal life from extermina. tion all pelagic hunting should be stopped and VoivhGn diel peois ange Bering Sea closed. le rm a 512 ALASKAN HERD. In such a ease as this I do not believe that the enforcement of a close time, either in Bering Sea or on the north- west coast, would be of any practical utility, un- less the fishing is absolutely prohibited. Prof. 17. H. Huxley, Vol. I, p. 412. Granting that open-sea seal hunting is to be allowed, the use of the =e 7 gun should be absolutely prohibited, and a close iad A. King-Hall, time established which should extend from the eile beginning of the year until all gestation is fin- ished. Further to protect the nursing female seals, it will be neces- sary to prohibit sealing within a zone extending at the very least 100 miles from the rookeries, in order that the females may be unmolested while feeding, and even under such restrictions there is no doubt many pups would die of starvation through the death of their mothers, which would be killed outside the protected zone. This method of protection I suggested to several owners and captains of the sealing vessels at Victoria, who all approved of the plan, naturally, to a certain extent, from selfish reasons. In my own opinion, however, the most perfect method of protecting the Alaska seal is to kill only the young bache- Jors, and as this discrimination can be made on shore alone, it natur- ally restricts all killing to the Pribilof Islands. Owing to the steady decrease in fur-seal life of late years, due to the large number of vessels hunting them at sea, it Frank Korth, p. 235. 18 ny Opinion that in order to save the species from extermination all pelagic hunting of fur- seals should be prohibited and stopped absolutely. And believe that in order to preserve the species from actual and speedy extermination all pelagic hunting should Jas. BE. Lennan, p. 370. be stopped absolutely, and the waters of Bering Sea closed. I believe that in order to preserve fur-seal life it is necessary to ab- solutely stop pelagic hunting and maintain a BE. W, Littlejohn, p. 457. close season against killing for skins on the Prib- ilot Islands. Think if all pelagie sealing was stopped the seal would become or plentiful again. If they keep on hunting them J.D, McDonald, p.267. they will soon be exterminated. T am fully convinced from my knowledge of seal matters that if this indiscriminate and reckless destruction of the I. H. McIntyre, p. 46. Pribilof seal herd continues as it has done in the past six years in Bering Sea and the North Pacifie, - the seals will be practically exterminated in avery few years, even if the United States Government should not allow any seals to be taken on the Pribilof Islands, for the destruction of females in the water has reached a number that can not be met by the annual increase. In my judgment the seals should be protected in Bering Sea and the North Pacific, and that pelagic sealing should be entirely prohibited in the said waters. ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING. 513 And that the prohibition of such poaching is necessary to the pres- ervation of the herds, and that from what he has himself seen he thinks, if such poaching be not 7. F. Morgan, p. 65. prohibited the herds will be practically exter- minated within five years. I think all the schooners ought to be stopped catching seal, so the Indians could catch them — Matthew Morris, p. 286. again. I believe, to avoid certain extermination of the Pribilof seal herd in the near future, that they must be protected in Bering Sea and in the North PacificOcean. Pel- 7. H. Moulton, p. 32. agic sealing must be absolutely prohibited, be- cause the majority of seals killed in this way are pregnant or milking females, and this is certain to cause extinction of the species very soon, if continued. If pelagic sealing is stopped, and the present regula- tions enforced on the islands, the seal herd will slowly but surely increase again, as they did before pelagic sealing had grown to such proportions as to affect seal life. Ifthis pursuit were stopped altogether, I think the fur-seal species would increase again, al- Arthur Newman, p.271. though very slowly. Unless the pelagic hunter is prevented from taking seals in Bering Sea and in the North Pacific, the Alaskan fur- seal will soon cease to be of commercial value, % 4: Noyes, p. 84. If the schooners were stopped hunting seal, they would become plenty once more, and my people would get plenty once more, and they need them very much, Figter- Olson, Bs 289, In regard to the broad question of the protection of the seal life at our possessions in the Bering Sea, I have clear and decided views. I think therehasbeenacrim- 4. G. Otis, p. 88. inal waste of this most precious animal life, and that the whole recent era of destruction should have been averted by the prompt and forcible interference of the Government. It is a great industry, that deserves the fullest protection, whether the Government and people of the United States, or those of Great Britain, or Canada, or Russia, are concerned. Atl have interests more or less in common in the perpetuation of the seal life and the preservation of this industry. The destruction of the seals results only in loss to all. When they are gone, there are no longer any seals to quarrel over and no need of the modus vivendi. I believe that our Government should have sought the coéperation of that of Russia, and that they should jointly have thrown a powerful fleet into those waters and protected the common interest, There is no question in my mind but that a vast deal of the destruction which has been going on in recent years is directly due to the lawless killing in the open sea on the annual migrations of the female seals northward to the seal islands for the purpose of bearing their young, and later, on their voyages from the rookeries to the adjacent fishing banks in search of food. You can no more preserve the seal life at these islands with these destructive methods in vogue than you could preserve a band of sheep or any race of domestic animals by turning 33 BS 514 ALASKAN HERD. loose a pack of wolves to raid them between their pasture grounds and their corrals. A fur-seal is an animal of high and fine organism, with wonderful delicacy and sensitiveness, and however much attached to their natural land habitat they may be, are easily driven therefrom by violent methods, whether upon land or in the water. The whole se- cret, in my judgment, of the preservation of the seal life at the Pribilof Islands and in the Bering Sea lies in a prompt return to those early methods of preservation which produced such marvelous results for good during the earlier years of our possession of the islands. The suppression of unlawful and miscellaneous seal killing, whether in the open sea or along our northern coasts, is the essential thing, in my judginent, to resuscitate this great industry and prevent the utter ex- termination of the seal life. To one like myself, having a practical knowledge of the subject, de- rived from close personal observation and study on the ground, it is amazing that there should have been so much delay on the part of the countries most concerned in arriving ata full agreement for the ade- quate protection of this unique and valuable industry. Indiscriminate poaching has only resulted in injury to the common interest, benefiting only a few lawless poachers who have been suffered to invade what should be treated as sacred marine territory. I desire to add that I have not now, and never have had, any pecun- lary or property interest whatever, directly or indirectly, in the sealing industry, and that I look upon the question simply as an American citizen desirous of seeing that which belongs to our Government and people defended and protected to the uttermost. To one who has spent so many years among the seals as I have and who has taken so much interest in them, it does J. C. Redpath, p. 152. appear to be wrong that they should be allowed to be so ruthlessly and indiscriminately slaugh- tered by pelagic hunters, who secure only about one-fourth of all they kill. There is no doubt in my mind that unless immediate pro- tection be given to the Alaskan fur-seal the species will be practically destroyed in a very few years; and in order to protect them pelagic hunting must be absolutely prohibited. I think the seals ought to be protected both in Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, and pelagic sealing entirely T. F. Ryan, p. 175. prohibited in those waters, or else a close season established, beginning March 1 and ending Sep- tember 1 or October 1. In case the seals are not protected in this manner, I believe they will be exterminated within five years, The annihilation of many rookeries formerly existing in different parts of the world has heretofore been accomplished by C. M. Scammon p. 475 wasteful, and sometimes wanton, destruction on the land. Now, the only known rookeries of any size are guarded, and the vandals can not reach them; but they seem to have found methods of destruction almost as effectual as a seal club, and they kill as cruelly and wastefully as they formerly did on land. Other animals of less use to mankind than the seals are protected by a close season, or some other restriction, to save them from slaughter when breeding, but nearly all the seals killed in the water are mothers with young. ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING. O15 Bering Sea seems to be peculiarly adapted to the wants of the fur- seals. Its climate is moist, the sun rarely shines in summer, and the water abounds in fish. Here [in Bering Sea] also pelagic seal hunters find their best opportunity. They can stay about where they please un- der cover of the fog and defy any guard-ship to detect them. The range of the seals is very broad, and it is impossible to watch every square mile. The only way to stop the destruction of the rookeries is to stop pelagic sealing. If it is cruel and wasteful to destroy a whole species of useful breeding animals, 1t is just a cruel and wasteful, in proportion, to kill a few of them. Why should any be killed? I do not believe any partial measure of protection will stop the deple- tion of the rookeries. If vessels may be fitted out with the parapher- nalia for seal hunting, and skins brought into port and sold with im- punity, the hunters will manage by hook or crook to evade any restric- tion. Unless proper measures are taken to restrict the indiscriminate cap- ture of the fur-seal in the North Pacifie he is of _ the opinion that the extermination of this species oe ze i be aes . . ; : ; n ; . I, p. 413. will take place in a few years as it has already ; done in the case of other species of the same group in other parts of the world. It seems to him that the proper way of proceeding would be to stop the killing of females and young of the fur-seal altogether, or as far as possible, and to restrict the killing of the males to a certain number in each year. The only way he can imagine by which these rules could be carried out is by killing the-seals only on the islands at the breeding time (at which time it appears that the young males keep apart from the females and old males), and by preventing ‘altogether, as far as possible, the destruction of the faur-seal at all other times and in other places. The seal herd which frequents St. Paul and St. George can be only preserved, in my opinion, by preventing all kill- ing of seals except on the islands, where judicious 3B. F. Scribner, p. 90. regulations can be enforced, as to the number, sex, age, and conditions of the seals can be taken; otherwise extermination will result in a very short time. If the seal herd is protected, and the regulations now in force are maintained, a hundred thousand seals can be taken annually from these islands for an indefinite time, provided the seal life is allowed to regain its normal condition from the drain lately made upon if by the indiscriminate slaughter occasioned by open- Sea sealing. I consider it necessary for the preservation of the seal herd which resorts to the Pribilof Islands, and for the preven- tion of their early extermination, that pelagic L. G. Shepard, p.189. sealing should cease in all waters which they tre- quent. I think that all pelagic seal hunting should be stopped so the seal can become plentiful again, for now the seal are so scarce that the Indians can catch but very few, Aaron Simson, p. 290. where in olden times they canght plenty. If the schooners are not stopped from hunting Thomas Skowl, p. 300. seal they will soon all be gone. 516 ALASKAN HERD. I am asked if a zone of prohibition about the islands, a territorial limitation, or a close season for pelagic sealing, Leon Sloss, p. 92. one or all of these restrictions will not, in my opinion, prove a sufficient restraint upon marine hunters to allow the rookeries to grow again. I answer emphatically no. Ido not believe they will suffice, and my answer is without per- sonal bias, for [ am not now engaged in the sealskin trade and have no interest in the industry other than that of the average American citizen. The scarcity of seals and consequent high price of skins stim- ulates the ingenuity of every man in the business either to evade re- striction or to invent more certain methods for capturing the animals. The rookeries are doomed to certain destruction unless brought within the sole management of those on the islands, whose interest it is to to care for them. Marine sealing should be absolutely prohibited and the prohibition enforced. It is my belief that for the permanent preservation of fur-seal life, Tao; We Wetth, p. 28 all pelagic hunting should be prohibited abso- a mae" lutely. It is, therefore, in my opinion, necessary that the seals should be protected, and all killing in the water prohibited W. B. Taylor, p. 177. in all waters which the seal herd frequents, and especially in Bering Sea and while the herd are en route to and from the islands through the Aleutian passes. In my opinion, pelagic hunting should be stopped altogether in order , to give the seal proper protection. Ihave resided J.C, Tolman, p. 223. in ‘Wrangel the last year and a half. Both in order to maintain the herd and to restore the seal-skin in- Geo. H. Treadwell, p, Wustry to a sure footing, I should like to see all 523. taking of seals in the water prohibited. Iam of the opinion that all killing of seals in the water should be prevented, both in Bering Sea and the North Pa- Geo. Wardman, p.179. cific, because the seals thus killed are slaughtered without discrimination as to age or sex. In case such killing be prevented in the water, such regulations can be en- forced upon the islands that the Pribilof seal herd will yield a supply of skins for an indefinite period without reducing the size of the herd. If, however, the killing of seals in the water is not prevented, all cal- culations looking toward the preservation of them on the islands by the Government and the lessees will be of no avail, and the Alaska seal will be exterminated. And deponent is of the opinion that if no restriction be imposed upon such indiscriminate killing as has been go- C. A. Williams, p. 538. ing on in Bering Sea and the North Pacific since the year 1885 by the poachers, the sealing indus- tries of the North Pacific will follow the course of those industries that formerly existed in the southern seas; and that there is only a measurable time, say at the outside five years, when, if the present condition of things continues, the seals of Bering Sea will be as ex- tinct as the seals ef south sea islands. Deponent says that the most complete protection to the herds would A CLOSE SEASON. 517 be the absolute prohibition of open-sea hunting; but that it may be sufficient protection for the herds in the North Pacifie if a close season can be arranged for all the seal north of the fiftieth parallel, north latitude, and west of the one hundred and fiftieth degree of west lon- gitude from the lst day of May to the 1st day of November. Depon- ent regards it as important that the seal herd should be protected as above indieated in the North Pacific, as otherwise they will be exter- minated, even if sealing be prohibited in the Bering Sea. I think the schooners should be stopped from hunting seal, and then they would become plenty again, and the Indians Peso 599 could kill them again as they used to. laa A CLOSE SEASON, Page 253 of The Case. I think seal ought to be protected in the North Pacific and Bering Sea from April 1 to September 1, in order to give them a chance to raise their young. Eicher ANGENCON; Beata: I do not think it is right to kill the mother seals before they have given birth to their young, as it is a fact that when we kill the mother seal we also kill her pup. 4. Andricius, p. 314. They should not be hunted for six weeks after giving birth to their young. @. In your opinion, is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea to prevent the herd from being exterminated? Ifso, for what months in the year? Geo. Ball, p. 483. —A. It is my opinion that it is absolutely neces- sary to protect the cows in Bering Sea during the entire year for a period of years. I don’t think it is right to kill the mother seal before they give birth to their young, for it is a fact that when you kill — popnnardt Bleidner. | the mother you also kill her pup. 313. BAe reer aa Pelagic sealing should be prohibited after April 1 of each year until such time as the young pups are able to subsist without nourishment from their mothers. Henry Brown, p. 318, If no seals were killed between the 1st day of April and the 1st day of September they would increase; but it would take international agreement to make kalling of . seals an offense during this season. arn Brennan, p. And in order to prevent the extermination of seals the hunting of them should be prohibited until after the mother ud ee seals give birth to their young. Sealers should , 3; 9° 0700" eee . > t wee ages yp. 319. be notified of a closed season before they go to the expense of fitting out. Q. What months of the year do you think they should be protected ?— A. From the 1st of July to the last of October I eel “ies think they should be protected. ant. Claussen, p. 412, 518 ALASKAN HERD. If the present practice of seal-hunting be continued, it will be a matter of a short time when the seal herd will be Louis Culler, p. 321. commercially destroyed. I think there should be what is called a close season in seal hunting on the water, to extend from the 1st of April until such time after the cows have given birth to their yovng and have reared them to an age at which they can live without sustenance from their mother. I think a closed season should be established for breeding seal from Pees cits ae January Ist to August 15th in the North Pacifie 700. Lashow, P=. Oeean and Bering Sea. And all seal-hunting in the waters should be stopped for a few rears to give the seal a chance to become plent Luke Frank, p. 294. y a 8 . Pp y again, Q. For what months in the year is it necessary to protect the cows 1 apr > arpa ‘ Luther T. Franklin, p, 10 the Bering Sea?—A, From the first of May to 426, the last of August. (). In your opinion is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in dwar W. Puncks, » Bering Sea to prevent the herd from being ex- 193. : eo 4 terminated? Ifso, for what months in the year?— A. Yes, sir; I think it necessary from the Ist of July until the middle of September. Chad George, p. 366. I think that all pelagic sealing should be stopped for five or six years, and the seal would become plenty again. Arthur Grifin, p. 326, Seals ought not to be killed in the water during the months of April, May, June, July, and August. I think a closed season should be established between May Ist and _ September 15th in North Pacific Ocean and Be- Martin Hannon, p. 445. ving Sea, which would give them a chance to increase. Q. Now, then, if the cow seals are to be protected in the Bering Sea, what month, do you consider it would be neces- H. Harmsen, p. 483. sayy to prohibit any being taken?—A. Say from the middle of June until the end of the year; some- thing like that, the first of December. I think that for the proper preservation of the seals all pelagic hunt- : ing should be prohibited until the mother seals Jas. Harrison, p. 327. have given birth to their young. Q. In your opinion, is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea to prevent the herd from being Wm. Hensen, p.484. exterminated; if so, for whatmonths in the year ?— _\. I think it necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea from the first of July to the last of November, in order to protect them from being exterminated. A CLOSE SEASON. 519 Q. In your opinion, is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in Bering Sea to prevent the herd from being ex- terminated? If so,for what months in the year?— tie ee J. Hoffman, p. A. Yes, sir; from the Ist of June until the Ist of 44 August, in order to protect the herd. I think that all pelagic seal hunting should be stopped for a number of years, and give the seal a chance to increase, and if this is not done they will soon become ex- 0. Holm, p. 368. terminated. Q. If the cow seals are to be protected in the Bering Sea, what month do you consider it would be necessary to prohibit any being taken?—A. I should consider Gustave Isaacson, p. it necessary to protect them all the time they are “4° in the Bering Sea. In order to prevent the entire extermination of the fur-seal, I think al] pelagic sealing in the Pacific Ocean on the coast of the United States, British Columbia, and Peal Jackobson, p. Alaska, should be stopped; also in Bering Sea 2 until the females have brought forth their young = That the 15th of July, after which all vessels should be allowed to enter Bering Sea and take seals without restraint any place outside of the legal juris- diction of the United States. Q. If the cow seals are to be protected in the Bering Sea what month do you consider it would be necessary to prohibit any being taken?—A. From the beginning of Frank Johnson, p, 441. July to the end of the year. There is no way, in my judgment, of preventing the seals from being totally exterminated, except by effectually pro- hibiting the hunting of them, both in the ocean Jas. Kiernan, p. 451. and Bering Sea durin .g¢ their breeding season, say from February until October, on the prineiple of the gaming laws on the land. I can not say as to seals appearing off the coast in less numbers each year, but I think some arrangement should be made for their protection by a close season Andrew Laing, p. 335. during the time they are carrying and nursing their young. In order to prevent the extermination of the fur-seal species I am of the opinion that a close season in the North Pacitic Ocean and in Bering Sea should be established #, N. Lawson, p. 221. and enforced from April 1 to November 1 of each year. I think that a close season between the months of February and November in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea should be established in order to pre- I. M. Lenard, p. 217. vent the extermination of the fur-seal species. 520 ALASKAN HERD. Deponent is further of the opinion that it would be necessary, in or- der to fully protect the herds, to prohibit, at Herman Licbes, p. 514, least for a time, the killing of all female seals anywhere. Q. In your opinion, is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea, to prevent the herd from being Chas. Lutjens, p. 459. exterminated?—A. It is absolutely necessary. Q. What months in the year do you think they should be protected?—A. The months when they are in the Bering Sea, from July 5 to November 1. I think all pelagic sealing should be stopped for a few years in order to give the seals a rest, for they are now hunted Geo. McAlpine, p.266. eight months in a year, and if we expect them to increase again we must stop hunting them in Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Q. If the cow seals are to be protected in the Bering Sea, what month do you think it would be necessary to prohibit Alex. McLean, p.438. any being taken? Would you prohibit them being taken at any time or all times?—A. I think if they are prohibited at all they should prohibit them for about twa months, principally July and August. (). How about September?—A. They are through breeding then, and the pups are ashoré. There are only two months that they can interfere with them there for breeding purposes that I know of. The seasons get later every year. There are breeding dates, ete. Ten years ago they never used to be any later than August breeding there. Now they are getting later than that, and are getting on to September, because the world is changing, the climate is—the seals change according to the climate. Q. If the cow seals are to be protected in the Bering Sea what months do you consider it would be necessary to prohibit Danl. McLean, p. 444. any being taken?—A. From the 15th of June until the season finishes; that would be the first snow. The pups do not leave the islands on the first snow, but when the second snow comes they leave the islands. They ought to be protected until the second snow; that is, in November. — G. E. Miner, p. 467. I think if all sealing was prohibited from Jan- : uary 1 to August 15, in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, it would give sufficient protection to the seal. That deponent is not in a position, by reason of possessing expert knowledge or personal acquaintance of killing Henry Poland, p. 571. Seals, to pronounce a positive opinion as to what steps are necessary, if any, to accomplish this re- sult, but he would suppose it reasonable to say that a close time, which should be universal in its application, for a specified period in each year, during which the killing of seals should be entirely prohibited, and the imposition of heavy penalties, say a fine of £1,000, for any violation of the regulations providing for such close time, would be effective to preserve the herds referred to; and deponent would, under any circumstances, increase the zone around the islands containing the rookeries, within which sealing should be absolutely prohibited, to a distance of 50 miles in every direction from the shore. A CLOSE SEASON. 521 Q. What months in the yeat do youthink they Frank Morreau, p. 468. ought to be protected?—A. Weil, from about the middle of June to the Ist of October. Pelagic sealing in the North Pacific Ocean John Morris, p. 341. should not be permitted for at least six weeks after the females have given birth to their young. It is very important that if the fur-seal is to be preserved it must be protected from indiscriminate slaughter in the open sea, or it will soon be exhausted. LI would aorris Moss, p. 342, suggest that either schooners should not be al- lowed to approach within a radius of 50 miles of the breeding grounds, or else they should not be allowed to enter the sea until the female has had proper time to give birth to her young, and to give it nurse until such time as the young seal is able to exist without it, say the 1st day of August. This is the general opinion of prominent owners of schoon- ers who have given an unprejudiced opinion upon that subject. I think that all sealing should be stopped for a number of years, so that the seal can become plenty again, for the white man has almost exterminated the seal. Nashtou, p. 298. They ought to be prohibited from killing seals in the water for a few years at least, or there will not be enough left to , Eis make them worth hunting. Wm. Parker, p. 345. The practice of taking seals in the water before they have given birth to their young is destructive to seal lite, wasteful, en . and should be prohibited. eee LRAT TN See From my knowledge and from conversation with other sealers, I be- lieve that for the proper preservation of seal life, sealing should be absolutely prohibited every two 1. Roberts, p. 242. or three years. I think pelagic sealing in the sea should be prohibited until such a time as the pup may have grown to the age at which it may be able to live without nurse from sym. Short, p. 348. its mother. Q. In your opinion is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea to prevent the herd from being exterminated? If so, for what months in the year ?—A. It is absolutely necessary to protect the ~~ cows, in order to prevent seals being exterminated, from the 1st of July up to the 1st of November. Gustave Sundvall, p. I do not consider it right to kill the mother seal before she has given birth to her young pup; I do not think they should be killed until six weeks after giving birth — John 4. Swain, p. 351, to their young. I think that all pelagic hunting should be stop- ‘. Thomas, p. 485. ped for a few years to give the seal a chance to increase. 522 ALASKAN HERD. I think sealing should be prohibited for four or five years in order to P. 8. Weittenhiller, p. give them a chance to multiply and become as O74. plentiful as they formerly were. I think there should be a closed season established some part of the year, so they could have a rest, as the constant Alf Yohansen, p.369. hunting of them in the open waters is soon going to destroy them. Walter Young, p. 303. Unless all sealing is stopped for a number of years the seal, like the sea-otter, will soon become extinct. PROHIBITION OF USE OF FIREARMS, Page 256 of The Case. Peter Brown, p. 378. I think they will all be killed off if they keep hunting them with guns. Circus-Jim, p. 387. If so much shooting at seals is not stopped they will soon be-all gone. Christ Clausen, p. 320. It is my opinion that spears should be used in hunting seals, and if they are to be kept from ex- termination the shotgun should be discarded. Alfred Irving, p. 387. If they keep on killing them with the guns there will be none left in a little while. Selwish Johnson, p.389. If hunted with guns they will all soon be de- stroyed. Moses, p. 310. And I think after awhile they will all soon be destroyed if they keep on hunting them with guns. PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING IN BERING SEA. Page 256 of The Case. In my opinion open-sea sealing is very destructive, and unless pro- hibited will result in the extermination of the C. A. Abbey, p. 187. Species at no very distant day. I also believe that it would be utterly useless to protect the rookeries on the seal islands and not protect the seal herd while in Be- ring Sea. Q. Do you think of anything else that is of value in regard to this seal question that I have not asked you, and if Geo. Ball, p. 483. anything you would like to say, you can give your opinion about it?—A. Well, I think it is proper for the interest of sealing in those waters that the Government should take immediate action in the protection of seals in the Bering Sea. If they do not protect them in the Bering Sea Wm. Bendt, p. 404, it will be but a few years before they will be ex- terminated. PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING IN BERING SEA. 523 From my knowledge of the business I am certain that the fur-seal will soon be exterminated if it is not protected in the Bering Sea. We might killsomein the Paci- Wm. Bendt, p. 405. fic Ocean, if there did not too many vessels go out to hunt them. If pelagic sealing is stopped in Bering Sea for a number of years seal would become plentiful again; if not stopped they Ae will soon be exterminated. PE Del: Q. In your opinion is it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in Bering Sea to prevent the herd from being exter- minated?—A, It is absolutely necessary in my VDanl. Claussen, p. 412, opinion. Q. Do you think it would be better that the Bering Sea should be entirely closed?—A. I think it would be better. . In your opinion, is it absolutely necessary to ae the cows in the Bering Sea to prevent 4. the herd from being exterminated ?—A. Certainly. seater T. Franklin, p. I am of the opinion that in order to save the seal from extermina- sour Wiad hunting in Bering Sea should be Thad, Fraser, py. 965. Q. Do you think it is necessary to protect the seal in the Bering Sea?—A. Certainly I do. en Oe Q. In the North Pacific?—A. In the North Pa- jy." Hagman, p. cific I will not say; but in the Bering Seal think ~~ itis absolutely necessary. Q. Do you think it is absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea?—A. You ought to protect them, cer- tainly; in order to keep the thing going they 4. Harmsen, p. 443. ought to be protected. Q. Is it necessary to protect the cows in the Pacific?—A. They kill the biggest half in the Pacific, so that they ought to be protected there. I think that the only way the seal can ever be- come plenty again is to stop all pelagic sealing in —_&. Hofstad, p. 260. Bering Sea. Q. Do you think it absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea?—A. Yes, sir. Q. What do you think about protecting them — Frank Johnson, p. 441. in the North Pacific, providing you wanted to in- crease the seals and save them from extermination?—I don’t know what to say about that. The North Pacific is pretty big. I think if sealing in Bering Sea was stopped and the indiscriminate killing of cows was Philip Kashevaroff, p. stopped, seal would become plentiful along the 262. coast. 524 ALASKAN HERD. Q. Is it your opinion, if sealing continues unrestricted, that they will soon be exterminated ?—A. Yes, sir; they will Chas. Lutjens, p.459. get less and less, and will soon be exterminated if all sealing is not stopped in the Bering Sea and on the islands. I think that all pelagic seal-hunting in Bering Sea ‘should be stopped, or the seal will soon become extermi- Jas. McKeen, p. 267. nated. Q. Do you think it is absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea to keep them from being exterminated?—A. I do. AA (. Is it often necessary to protect them in the Alter. MoLean, p-498. worth Pacific?—A. That is a question that should be international. Q. What I want to get at is, is it your idea that in order to protect and keep up this supply of young seals that it is necessary not only to protect them in the Bering Sea but to protect the cows as they are in the North Pacific, nearing the ground, or as they are coming out?—A. Yes, sir; in the way it is here, the Pacific Ocean is a large ocean. The seals are spread all over, and it would be impossible to go to work and exterminate them from these waters to decrease them as long as they keep them out of the Bering Sea. That is where the body of the seals get into. For 40 miles within the passage they can not handle the seals at all, because you don’t see them. They are traveling too much. You may see a herd once in a while, but very rarely. Q. Whereabouts in the North Pacific do you find them the most numerous ?—A. You can start from San Francisco, and you carry them all the way up from the time you leave here until you get up to those passes; all the way up 150 miles to 30 miles in the shore. In some places you come in closer than that, according to the point of land that you come into. Q. In your view of the case they should be protected in the Bering Sea all the season?—A. Yes, sir; I think it would Alex. McLean, p. 439. ye advisable to protect them in the Bering Sea altogether. @. You are an old sealer; perhaps you know some things that I don’t. If there is anything you think of that is interesting I should like to know it.—A. No, sir; I should like to give my opinion as far as it is right, and beyond that I would not do it. I am interested in sealing, and want to protect the seals. I wish to say that I would like to see the seal islands protected from raids, and also the Bering Sea. Daniel McLean, p. 444. Q. Do you think it is absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Bering Sea?—A. Yes, sir. Q. It is also necessary to protect them in the Pacific?—A. The Pa- cific is a large ocean, and they do not go in large bands. They go singly and in pairs, so that there is not a chance to kill so many of them in the ocean. In the Bering Sea they are in bands, and they go onto the islands and are concentrated in a small place. * * Q. Do you know of anything else that would be interesting in regard to the question?—A. I think the seals ought to be protected. {[ think the custom-house should not clear any ships either in the British Col- onies or the United States for sealing in the Bering Sea; that is, if they PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING WITHIN A ZONE. 525 want to protect them. I would like to see the islands protected from raids, and the Bering Sea also. Q. Do you think that the Bering Sea should be rank Moreau, p. 469. entirely closed?—A. Certainly. I think that pelagic seal hunting in Bering Sea Wm. H. Smith, p. 478. should be stopped. Q. In order to preserve the seals, do you think it absolutely neces- sary to stop all killing in the waters of the Ber- ing Sea?—A. Yes, sir; I think it absolutely nec- Gustave Sundvall, p. essary, in order to protect the seals, to stop all 481. killing of cows in the Bering Sea. The preservation of the rookeries requires the suppression of pelagic sealing, at least in the Bering Sea, and in the im- mediate vicinity of the passes. A Lie TOOT 5 De BE I think if pelagic hunting was stopped in Bering Sea that seal would become plentiful along the coast of southern Alaska, and we Indians could again catch plenty a Thikahdeynahkee, p. of them with a spear, which is a much better way to capture seal than by shooting them with shotguns, for none are lost when struck with a spear. I think if pelagic hunting is not stopped in Ber- __ Charlie Tlaksatan, p. ing Sea the seal will soon become exterminated. 27 Think that all pelagic seal-hunting should be stopped in Bering Sea in order to keep the seal from being exter- Aainated: 4 Rudolph Walton, p. 273. Under Russian rule there were many years of faulty management, and at one time much danger of extermination of seal life at these islands, but intime thecompany . 4, Williams, p. 545. came to regard seal life with so good an eye to preservation and perpetuation that their rules and regulations in re- gard to these points are still in force on the islands; but, while they permitted free navigation throughout Bering Sea, they sternly pro- hibited any interference with seal life in the waters thereof, and so the United States Government will be forced to do if it would preserve and perpetuate its present splendid property. PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING WITHIN A ZONE, Page 258 of The Case. A zone of 30, 40, or 50 miles about the islands in which sealing is pro- hibited would be of little or no protection, as the females, during the breeding season, after their Chas. Bryant, p. 9. pups are born, wander at intervals over Bering Sea in search of food. But to suppose an impossibility, even if such a zone could protect seal life, it would be impossible, on account of the atmosphere being so constantly foggy and misty, to prevent vessels from crossing an imaginary line drawn at such a distance from and about the Pribilof Islands. 526 ALASKAN HERD. I am of the opinion that the Pribilof seal herd should be protected both in Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. A. P. Loud, p. 39. If an imaginary line were drawn about the islands, 30 or 40 miles distant therefrom, within which sealing would be prohibited, this would be little protection to seal life, for all the poachers whoin I interviewed acknowledged that they could get more seals in the water near the fishing banks, 30, 40, or more miles from the islands, than in the immediate vicinity thereof, and the hunters on the schooners always complained if they got much nearer than 40 miles of the islands. I am certain that even if sealing were prohibited entirely upon the islands the seal herd would ina short time be exterminated by pelagic sealing, if permitted, because the females that is, the producers—are the seals principally killed by open-sea seal- ing. A zone of 30 miles about the seal islands within which seal hunting would be prohibited would be valueless in preserv- H. H. McIntyre, p. 46. ing seal life; first, because Bering Sea during the time the seals are there is almost constantly en- veloped in fogs and mist, under cover of which marauding vessels could run in very near to the islands without being observed, if allowed to come as near as 30 miles thereto; second, because for over 30 miles from said islands great quantities of seals are found coming from and going to the islands from the feeding grounds; and further, because seals found in the waters for 60 to 100 miles about said islands are much bolder and easy of approach than in the open sea, through the proximity of their island home. Therefore, in my judgment such a 30- mile zone would be of practically no use as a Ineans of protection to seal life, because of the impossibility to enforce such a law, and because of its inefficiency if enforced. If it is the fact, as has been stated, that the herds have now been diminished since the killing of female seals upon Geo. Rice, p. 574. the sea began, as to which deponent has no knowledge, he should say that it would at least be reasonable to prohibit the killing of seals absolutely within the area which may be described as the feeding grounds around the island. Pelagic sealing should be suppressed as far as practicable. ----2-- @. LOMWOY saan ss cease Sere 5. Zoltoy nes. ose. soe 5. Northeast Point ........ 1872 227 | July 13. English Bay..---..-.--. 2, 319 455 1D LOMO eeepe meee ae, ci 2 1, 133 759 16. Halfway Point ......--. 1, 659 278 18, English Bay....-.-:..-.- 2, 343 293 19. Northeast Point ........ 4, 204 209 19 Lulkcanante ee ee - ea ee 836 1, 607 Ae HOMO V tee see cee eee 628 662 Dien LiOMUOVA 2.2222 ee ae 1, 369 1, 73 25. English Bay.......--.-- 2, O70 1, 048 DORA OMON = 2a: are ores eae 10 A O034| Ato 10. LOltOys- 22-5 cseccsecnses 119 702 1 A OlUG psa eee ee = s- 87 388 16. Northeast Point -....... 20 2, 826 ON ZOUUGY se eamsea ose as.c2.s 112 1, 166 | AS Tees Eran) era 0 6 ey ae a ee 151 1,702 | Sept. 6. Lukanan ...-.22..22--.- 5p 5, 014 Pl MATVAN, = actos wastes eS 29 524. 20 Sbtkanan.: 222 222.22. 11 910 | Oct. 10. Lukanan ............... 10 4, 615 en Erb gt 2 2 ee yee ee ale I enls) 28. English Bay.-.-....-...-- 1,255 318 29. English Bay and Reef .. 664 5, 109 31. English Bay and Reef .. ua 798 31. Northeast Point -....... 1, 680 1 So9)| Nov. 29. Uolstoy =<.) -- aie ote ne 395 Oo, 209 HOC: DwMReCl so-eiccecs tact 22255. 66 ay lala Gr OlSbOY: caeapce set ee 391 1,610 3, LoD 75, 352 2, 060 1873. 96| July 7. Zoltoy and Lukanan.... 1,502 188 OF bnelish “Bay=...--.sose- 2, 485 796 9. Northeast Point: ... 5. - 1, 614 700 a OLS UG Wace ee tree ee 917 916 De LOO Y socks setae see 1, 228 lb; Miukanan.. 220. «ceeccn =. 1, 540 2, 445 Hts nevis Bay. soos. sc «cee 1, 553 1, 656 lesan 77O lit Olvieseee eer 925 2,016 19. Lukanan and Zoltoy.... 1, 045 3, 242 19. Northeast Point......-- 5, 696 1, 758 21. WU eLSh Bay ec cece sme cc 752 455 22. Lukanan and Zoltoy...- 1,926 663 23. Lukanan and Zoltoy..--- 446 3, 910 23. Northeast Point......-.- 2, 125 G50 | sAio eed ZoltOyieees-~ secs yeoe oe 173 1, 787 Lie HOLOVs eas meee Scere 144 3, 410 EE ZLO.LUO Verret eae coe 65 3, 187 25. AumikAnan 2%. «220-22 = 2 72 Zaloiiesept Tea DolstOyeecs cose ease 45. AT 1, 142 Ore LOlstovicees= = ae oa 25 O20 Oeti725.. LOlbOy. o..6.0-5 es nce -e 11 Saou. 9. WOIStOY s-eceet ane. aeeene == 159 2, 322 DOG OIGOY ccesece sasie = 2 355 L927 B30; pLOIStOVns- acess cease sce 242 2, 194 693 75, 437 550 Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, etc.—Continued. April 27. May June 6. 19. 25. 30, 27. . Tolstoy. . Northe ast Pp oint 5. Reef and Zoltoy - . English Bay . Zoltoy . Southwest Bay . Southwest Bay . Tolstoy and Luckanan.. . Zoltoy . Northeast Point........ . Zoltoy and Luckanan.. » nelish Biyessieo sso -= 5. Enelish Bay . Reef and Zoltoy...-..- IN THE PRESENT. Northeast Point........ Southeast Bay. - Re ies oo es = eee ee Reef. . English and Southw est Bays pO OL eeta a aes sa eee eee . English Bay and Tol- stoy . Northeast Point....-... . Reef . English and Zoltoy.--..... and Southwest . English and Southwest Bays and SLO a ee ae Seat ew Lukanan Northeast Point 1874. 14 | June 30. Tolstoy and Zoltoy .... 1, 212 ACT | July « Dn olishas ay: 2s ees 2, 208 336 3. Zoltoy and Luckanan.. 2,615 303 SB. LOlSbOY ; s22sc aces ene 1, 537 217 4. Zoltoy and Lukanan... 53 4. Northeast Point........ 3, O14 2, 391 G.2Rolsto yee se eee ee 1, 564 538 8, snp lish Raiveass one aaa 2, 702 9, LOWY =. Ssice- cee eeee 1, 987 556 9. Luckanan and Tolstoy. 1,580 4, 062 LOS ZOO y- Soa eee 432 638 10. Northeast Point......-- 3, 367 13. Tolstoy and Lukanan.. 1, 664 1, 897 14 nolish Bayeccanc seme 2, 169 634. Toy AOULOV sae eee a eee 468 540 16. Luckanan .........---- 1, 094 LG ZoliOy. Cage. ans eee 668 1, 982 U7. (uacleamian’ 3a ee 527 620 17. Northeast Point ....-.. 4, 004 4, 724 29%. LUO Veeco beneoaeee ees 127 8389 28; LOMO cose. een eee 165 Aug.. (5. Zoltoy 3. .5.- Sos ses see 110 2, 689 LO LOMO cocci gan = ae 104 474 LT. Zoltoy:.°- 25 -Ssee eens 124 1, 665 24, LOltoy «<3... s0-eeoe ee 116 1750: Sept. Tx Zoltoy-2-22-- eee as Al 2, 563 EGS .ZOLOy- case ss eae cee 108 470 OF. ZOMoy ae 2, 097 656 10: Ketovy=.-2.122-4.0s5-. 1, 125 492 10. Northeast Point ....... 5, 935 204 Ibs AOD oe eee eee 1, 565 1, 198 M4 Volstoy eo. 22222-50002. 1,810 692 TAMING LON V2 ee oe ce ste oa 746 15. Wmnelish Bay, --<2t2.5.- 2, 700 710 Gee Zoli Wis. see. es = 1, 205 17. Northeast Point ../...- 7, 439 1, 560 17. Northeast Point .... 27 Fe Zi OLLO Wetec aa ha 637 1, 456 2S 2, AOLUOY otc (een. 2.5 <0 159 Goll | Ato. 04.0 Zoltoy secs. acl esse 235 4, 052 1A DRGUO MY Ooe. Sa oa acrs. 191 (ey Ae AOUO Verges oe 28 eae 159 2,115 DOT OGY ie goa cles evel 101 707 WU A OLiOY 2s oe ts Some 78 452 22 LOVLOV) Secs ener 41 UE OYA oN ivan ane een ene ee 63 3, 000)| Oct 125 Zoltoy sos0-oe- =: cas 55 yo0dml| NOVes mee COli at teste eM cence = 155 5, 252 Ste ROIStOV eant 2s shea ona 1, 985 1, 830 27. Southwest Bay ........ 9 1, 149 3, 007 90, 036 262 L876. July i Northeast Point........ , 000 709 1. Tolstoy and Middle Hill. 4, 495 897 4, Zoltoy and Ketovy-..-. 2, 644 223 BP OstOy 0-220. sssaneae 2, 846 188 7. English Bay.-...-.....-- 2, 267 836 8. Northeast Point........ 8, 116 673 Soe Latean am’ been ass cease 2,126 468 NON AOU @erece een ne oe sce 2 2, 03 566 TOBA OMS tOVieeee seas ee aces 1, 974 173 Al eAOliOVpa nese Sst ces senses 53 1, 585 Ue AGIUOY. acces eae eae eae = 1, 040 868 | Aug. 2. Tolstoy 22. - 2222-25225 2, 139 811 Pes uikanane- sees See 1, 538 885 LOM ZiOMLO We snc setae sete es 120 624 Wis WKelOVY ta. -ie oe = 8 = nee ae 129 2, 641 Das WOLONN cc lcces aie atieceee 207 Sn Z0 Mepis ZOlOVisecsce oo 5-5 so. ane 163 2, 942 OPRCtONY dm cissinw ce sve meer 50 3, 161 NG ZOO Ve sce cece eee oe g 480 | Nov. 24. Southwest Bay.....-... 376 6, 193 25. Southwest Bay.-....... 127 4,503 | Dec. 14. Tolstoy ..............-. 575 862 3, 017 77, 900 1, 442 552 IN THE PRESENT. Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, etc.—Continued. M-y 22. June 4. Reef 5. Southwest and English 12. Reef and Zoltoy . Halfway Point: .....-.- 4. Southwest and English . Seal Lion Rock 30. Southwest Bay and Tol- 5. Ketovy and Zoltoy . Tolstoy and Middle Hill Bay . Southwest and English say Bay . Tolstoy and Lukanan.. . Loltoy LOMO Y oc. soso a. eae . Tolstoy and Middle Hill . Southwest Bay . Zoltoy and Lukanan ...- 2; Halfway Point:...-2..- . Tolstoy and Middle Hill . Northeast Point 5. Zoltoy . Halfway Point..-.....-.. . Tolstoy and Middle Hill . Zoltoy and Lukanan ... 9. English Bay . Tolstoy and Middle Hill ZLoltoy 20. Tolstoy and Middle Hill 21. Southwest Bay-.-.-..--- 22. Zoltoy and Lukanan. .. 22. Northeast Point....-.--. 24. Halfway Point ...:....- . Ketovy and Zoltoy . Tolstoy and Lukanan .. 5. Tolstoy and Middle Hill . Lukanan and Zoltoy ... . Southwest and English Bays 1877. 332 | June 30. Northeast Point........ 6, 449 HAG Gduly: 2eeZOltoy, 4-2 s pe ae 1, 849 3. Tolstoy and Lukanan .. 1,534 796 5. English Bay and Middle «, JVI et cogs caste eee. 2, 522 1, 696 6. Ketovy and Lukanan... 2, 275 446 7. Northeast Point......-. 5, 660 1, 092 ff, GOWOY ses oss ces 48a 1, 113 9. Zoltoyn. <: = cases eee 405 1, 647 10. Tolstoy and Middle Hill 2, 086 1, 506 10. Northeast Point....-.-- 2,172 1, 092 TAS ZOOS = os sec ete 1, 066 1, O11 2G), AOMOY Sattmess ons aes 75 1 ADS. Auto. 0. ZOO s2-csaccs eee 108 D66..<5,, ZOMOY... s2s4.022s-5e-eeee 487 1, 824 24. ROOl 2c secdsSesecscaasee 489 1, 884 84, 733 May June July Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, etc.—Continued. DEPENDENCE ON ALASKAN HERD. 19. Sea Lion Rock......... 21. Sea Lion Rock.-........ AO eo : Reef and Zoltoy....... . Middle Hill and Tolstoy . Halfway Point-. . Reef and Lukanan..... . Southwest Bay........ . English Bay and Mid- GUE. aes Se Haliway Point and lukanamn 22552... . Reef and Zoltoy....... . Zoltoy and Lukanan... . Halfway Point and Zol- . Southwest and English bays Lukanan, LON UO Yore tee eee . Lukanan, Zoltoy, and Reef Hill eee ere Mes ae et . Zoltoy and Lukanan... 2. Middle Hilland English | i ce ey ae lea . Halfway Point and Zol- toy . Lukanan and Zoltoy .. . . Northeast Point....... . Southwest Bay......... English Bay and Middle po | ee eee 1885. | July 127 | . Zolto . Halfway Point . Zoltoy . Reef ae Middle Hill.. . Northeast Point....... . Southwest Bay... .... . Middle Hill and English . Lukanan and Ketovy.. ~ Middle Will<.. 2-22.22. . Halfway Point........ . Northeast Point-...... . Southwest Bay........ . English Bay and Middle Hill Duikanianiees ae ee Ba nan . Zoltoy and Middle Hill . Northeast Point....... . Halfway Middle: Hills. 3: ae . Middle Hill, Lukanan, Point and Zoltoy.......... Zoltoy and Ketovy.... uw LOWLON Ee eeeaciore eo as. ; Zoltoy ; Zoltoy . Zoltoy 26. nO Ae ere eee Till 559 560 Jan. May 1 June July Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, etc.—Continued. > croveto . Sea Lion Rock . Southwest Bay...- : Southwest . Halfway Point . Reef and Zoltoy....... . Tolstoy. . . Lukanan and Reef..... . Southwest Bay . English Bay and Tol- . Halfway Point . Reef and Zoltoy-. . Tolstoy . Halfway Point SAU eee oe ee . Reef, English Bay, and . Northeast Point . Southwest Bay.....--- . English Bay . Halfway IN . Southwest Bay Sled ates ae Bay” witen.d NOIStO ¥en rece sto and Middle Fillets: btbieecd.t . Northeast Point..-.... . Southwest Bay..-.-.-... . English Bay and Tol- ee stoy Tolsto and Zol- Point and Dukanan..< 225. <.-. toy stoy Southwest Bay . Reef and Zoltoy.. Northeast Point . . English Bay and ae stoy Halfway Point......... THE PRESENT. 1886. 83 | July 7. 49 8. \ . English Bay and Mid- 300 153 561 1, 323 . Halfway Point .. . Southwest . Halfway Point . Southwest . Zoltoy . Zoltoy Reef, Zoltoy, and Lu- kanan sc. .2s.sceress Southwest Bay dle Hill . Reef, Zoltoy, and Lu- kanan $422 costae . Northeast Point.....-.. . Halfway Point........ . Southwest Bay West Point . English Bay and Mid- dle Hill . Reef, Zoltoy, and Lu- kanan . B: Ee "and West Point. asc Sone . Reef and Zoltoy....... . English Bay and Mid- dle Hill Bay and West Point-..22290ee4 . Reef, Zoltoy, and Lu- kanan . . English Bay and Middle Hill . : Northeast Point....... . Southwest Bay Halfway Point ....-.. ik; Reet. 28 22) eee Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, etc.—Continued. LEPENDENCE ON ALASKAN HERD. May 25. Reef and Southwest Bay. June 6, Tolstoy....-. eeleele lacie Oh a eGOIE RS Be oS eccoaedce Done ERO STO VRe sire -atimccls Halfway, Point-=-..< --2- . Reef and Zoltoy.-.-...... . Northeast Point . English Bay and Tolstoy . Southwest Bag and West Point . Zoltoy and Lukanan.... . Tolstoy and Middle Hill. . Halfway Point pel olish, Bay 2.0 ~s <<< . Northeast Point . Reef and Zoltoy Tolstoy and Middle Hill. Reet, Zoltoy, and Luka- nan . Halfway Point.......... . English Bay and Tolstoy . Reef and Zoltoy . Northeast Point . Southwest Bay 36 BS 561 1887. 275 | July.12. English Bay and Luka- 419 Wane. fo ser ost tees 2, 593 314 13. Reef, Zoltoy,and Ketovy 3, 028 501 J4. Haliway Polmb-222\o- <.. 1, 201 407 15. Tolstoy and Ketovy..-.- 1, 298 526 16. Reef and Zoltoy....-... 986 750 16. Northeast Point -....... 6, 324 765 i. WestsPOmt. 25 Hace 617 523 18. Southwest Bay ......--. 2, 105 1, 641 19. English Bay and Tolstoy 2, 037 20. Zoltoy and Lukanan-.... 3, 294 1, 004 21. Halfway Point and La- 1,314 POON rae ecieeete. ces Toot 1, 165 22. English Bay and Tolstoy 1, 876 4, 891 22. Northeast Point ......-. 5, 565 1, 961 23. Zoltoy and Southwest IBA ee eeceoe ccs ee 2, 226 1, 180 24, Middle Hill... 22. s.-2-. 232 AnOO4 | EAC, Me ZOlUOY) 222-22) clein wicicis =r 164 1, 895 Sip ZiOl DON ess oe ee weet 113 1, 604 16. Reef and Lukanan...-.. 207 1, 162 24, English Bay............ 519 6,068 | Sept. 5. Middle Hill........._... 403 1, 616 NDS OZ. O CO Vie eta. eee 106 1,703: | Nowe Gi. A0ltoy 2-6 224--25 -225e< 65 ft. Middle Hillee 2 222.2. 590 2, 016 ZO ee eG lie see setae ee oe 78 990, 26. Tolstoy and Middle Hill. 185 1,618 | Dee. 9. Tolstoy and Middle Hill. 445 1, 125 15. Sea Lion Rock and South- 5, 717 WSU Duy rcs ccec cai cle 167 2, O61 85, 996 Jan. May June July IN THE PRESENT. Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, ete.—Continued. . Northeast Point . Tolstoy and Sea Lion . Zoltoy . Reef 7. Reef and Zoltoy . Tolstoy: . Southwest and English . Northeast Point , nelish: Bay. fsa ae se 5. Halfway Point }. Reef and Zoltoy . Southwest Bay . English Bay and Tol- . Southwest Bay . English Bay and Mid- . Halfway Point . Southwest Bay . Northeast Point . English Bay and Mid- . Halfway Point . Southwest Bay . English Bay and Luka- . Halfway Point . Northeast Point . English Bay and Luka- Joy: rd: eee ee ee SU0V 22 ace sae ceate an = . Reef and Zoltoy......- + Halfway Pomt..<..-4-- . Northeast Point....--- . English Bay and Mid- dle Hill dle Hill . Reef, Zoltoy, and Luka- nan dle Hill . Reef, Zoltoy, and Luka- han nan Reet and Zoltoy....-.- ban ee 5, 1, ) tat) 1, 5, 1, 9 — 1, 1, 1, i, LSSSeeq 005 Sala 098 998 625 O71 188 822 942 491 490 O54 Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. . Reef and Zoltoy....... 1, 082 . English Bay and Luka- TSN: 202 ee eee 1, 554 13. Southwest Bay ...-.---- ios 14. Northeast Point ....-..-. 5, O88 14, Halfway Point -..222-- 773 15: West Points: .22s eee 480, 16. Reef and Zoltoy.-.-..--.. 2, 004 17, Bnelish Bay...soeeess 2, 054 18. Sonthwest Bay ....--... 2, 216 19. Halfway Point and akan aay 2: 22 ses 1,410 20. Zoltoy and Reef ....-.. 2,018 21.. Northeast Point ...-...-. 5, 463 21. English Bay and La- MOOD) oe 32.42 eae 1, 347 23. Reef, Zoltoy, and Luka- WAN 2 ooo 2 eee 1, 269 24. Halfway Point. see 347 25. Enolish Bay: :-c.2ec-e- 1, 619 26. Northeast Point -..---- 3, 565 26. Reef, Zoltoy, and Luka- MON Cocoon eee 1, 353 27. Southwest Bay and Zol- GOW noon toes eee 950 2 LOUGY 222052 eee cee MT. Si, AOOY 2 Boone tases 140 6. “Zoltoey, 2222-022 2c ose 15g 23. Middle Hill and Luka- DAN (ocree ee Sacer eles 362 20. ZOMG 22 socadae eee 21 OQ: Z0ltOy. 22sec see eee 44 1b. ‘Zoltoy.2.2224 esse ees 14 27, “Middle bill 2ese-aeaer 32 3. Middle Hill and Zoltoy 126 15, PAGOV. -22.4 foo see 277 26. Zolboy -<222s2-25. see Hy, SO: URe6P 22 S34 eee cee eee 127 iy, Tolstoy =a .<--s— ee 190 26. Sea Lion Rock......... 78 81, 116 July Jan. 27. Sea Lion Rock Seal-skin record of St. Paul Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, ete.—Continued. © OD AMX & wl . Tolstoy . Reef and Zoltoy ....... . Southwest Bay .-...... . Halfway Point . English Bay and Middle . Reef and Zoltoy . Halfway Point . Northeast Point . English Bay and Middle . Halfway Point . English Bay and Middle . Southwest Ba . English Bay and Middle DEPENDENCE ON ALASKAN HERD. Hill . Zoltoy, Reef, and Luka- . Southwest Bay ........ . Northeast Point ..-.... . English Bay and Middle Hill Mnisanan. 225. 222. . English Bay and Middle Hill . Southwest Bay.-...-.-.-. . Reef, Zoltoy, and Ke- tovy 1D ca ree ea nah iulie ere eee ee 1580) tats Semen ee ec eeee cee ese 1889. 124 | July 10. 41 12 234 201 120 947 764 340 1, 229 1, 160 1, 561 253 4, 156 1, 355 2 578 979 1890. *170 | May 21. Sea Lion Rock 563 Halfway Point ........ 932 . Reef and Zoltoy ....... 2, 004 13. Southwest Bay........ 1, 006 13. Northeast Point ....... 3, 148 15. English Bay and Middle de GOD Den er eee nee 3, 083 16. Zoltoy, Reef, and Luka- NAN... ke sec serene 191 17. Halfway Point ........ 1, 931 18. English Bay, Middle Hill, and Lagoon ... 2, 045 19. Southwest Bay.-....... 2, 016 20. Zoltoy and Reef ....... 1, 913 20. Northeast Point ....... 6, 301 22. English Bay and Middle PHA eis Saeicec soe me 1, 943 23. Reet, Zoltoy, and Ke- WO VYierre ees Soe tee ts 1, 122 24. Halfway Point ...._... _ 1,334 25, English Bay and Middle 1oOB Ne ee ee ee 1, 752 26. Southwest Bay....-... 679 27. Reef and Lukanan..... 1, 105 27. Northeast Point ....... 3, 140 29. English Bay and Middle Ei secrete ae 1, 640 30. Halfway Point and Southwest Bay...... 1, 588 31. Northeast Point ......- 2, 162 Dilly AOlGOWs soacta meee esc oa *156 6, bukamansess.2-..---. 5: *163 IA eZOlUON 2 as ance alse oo cise *181 DA AOWON, =e ew cence as oo *139 aoe OO Vigra ate tein cine see *87 26. Juukanana---22 . 52.5500 *Ad A LOUOY so~.. Sct s08.0-- *80 LOT OISUOY) -mteeieosacen shes *223 PE gas) oe a ee *347 Pie IVCOl ce nates espe ss < nicer *189 BLURS) es ee eee ee ae *246 Li AAP ODIO sees. . Southwest 25. Northeast ee ee | Killed for food in fall and winter. June 3. North Or NOTLUGASE ¢an-5-0-5 4 5ee . Starrie Arteel 4, Northeast....-...:2..... i, HOUUNWORDD aoe. eke , Sti ATTie Arteel i Zi eae LIN vchssrare des . Northeast - . Starrie Arteel and - near. + DOWULIWERiuiceeceeee ome . Northeast - Southwest Starrie Arteel and north- Starrie Arteel and north- 1877. 256 | June23. Northeast .............. 552 198 26. Starrie Arteel _......... 1, 860 702 29; Northeast’ =..-.-s.2.es4 eA ret) 578 | July 3. Starrie Arteel and near. 1, 669 1, 389 6. Northeast... 22.2 52 -ce- 2, 164 9, SNorihiennn 22 sccece eee 300 1, 154 10, Northeast ...2.5-.csc-cs 880 83. 871 15, 000 1878s. 405 July 2. Starrie Arteel and near. 930 385 | 4. Southwest ..<2-s2cccee. 1, 433 1, 074 &. Northeast.2.r2...ss5-58 793 9. Starrie Arteel ...-...... 1.33 858 12> SOUTHWEShs-2s-52- yee 328 N17 13. Southwest s..-22=45e-2 1, 025 570 15. Northeast ......--..--=- 1, 892 324 (onl ODUM Grice. see eee 1, 290 851 19, Starrie Arteel.._.2..-..9 ibm 517 2), Northeast sss.cs-- eee 1, 114 644 = 18, 000 1879. 811 | June 25. Southwest -............ 522 69 Df. SOULHWESU «2. ccs ec aeeee 286 445 27. Starrie Arteel ......-.--. LG 105 30. Northeast .......-..---- 1, 584 413 | July 3. Starrie Arteel ......-...- 1, 412 372 3. Southwest ............- 849 445 4, Southwest .........--.. 351 498 5. Northeast 2522. 24eoe see BSir icc INOLUNGTIN2 en ccc ace eee 1, 738 755 9. Starrie Arteel ......-.-- 1, 261 430 14, Northeast 22... 22. 1, 636 AT3 15 NOrtHGIn. 4 2c 2 oe eee 863 515 16. Southwest ....-...-..-. 800 574 882 20, 000 1880. 1,169 | June25. Starrie Arteel........... 1, 320 81 28. Northeast 2. ...22eaeee 1, 764 833 28. Southwest ..........-.. 843 562 30. Starrie Arteel........... 808 ool | daly <1. Northeast 2.2. oe-eeeee 392 734 2. Southwest 5....5:22sse- 961 Dot 2) Northein 22es2=" sees 954 254 5, Starrie Arteel ......-..- 515 223 6, Worheast. 222.520. 1, 481 596 7, southwest 2232 se.- === 1, 810 1, 182 8. Northeast’ 2: 2535 se-ceeee 948 618 811 20, 000 DEPENDENCE ON ALASKAN HERD. 567 Seal-skin record of St. George Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, inclusive, ete.—Continued,. Killed for food in fall and winter. June 9. Northern SHNORUM EDN. ¥ occ ce ccc MIOOUbMUWESbee cco s.c ose os . Starrie Arteel . Starrie Arteel . Northeast - ae WiSOUUAWOSta- 22.5 Secec ccc Pout Wests: 2 ssi. 0Sceee . Starrie Arteel WNOriheaste....- 2s 4. 22. . Starrie Arteel . Northeast ...-.. _- . Southwest Southwest Killed for food in fall and winter. une 264 Northern. 22. ecieec<--ccs 12. Starrie Arteel and north- COB eke tees cree 16. ee Arteel and north- “east. 29. Sti ne ASU... 2.222 eee eee ee ee ee ae ls efafelale Sta'e\ajotwealeere Killed for food in fall and winter. June 12, Starrie Arteel and north- eastern 15. Starrie Arteel and north- GUSTER saoeee eae. hee 2 19. Starrie Arteel and north- (SONS ie] 0 6 Regs Aan eee Se 22. Starrie Arteel and north- CASUCING a on foe eee 25. Starrie Arteel and north- CAISGCCIN so mco2 cscs sce 28. Starrie Artec] and north- CAsbeMy, ee 2 2s). scieis 30. Starrie Arteel and north- CASTEIM: crcce0 oo. eee 2. Starrie Arteel and north- CASTEMMy S220 5-025. -4-< 4, Starrie Arteel and north- GASTCTMa.2\.52 oot See 7. Starrie Arteel and north- eastern July cece es see eee 1881. 640 | June30. Starrie Arteel........... 707 611 | July 1. Northeast... 5.5... 2-.- 1, 371 916 4, Starrie Arteel and north- 494 ro) by 0 Bias a A ee ee AS 615 6. Southwest -..........--. 476 445 js Northeast). 5 --beee se 1, 850 597 (5) 8. Starrie Arteel .......... 362 447 it, Northeast 2-2 222 .ss2e. 1, 300 227 12. Starrie Arteel ..-_.. ..2¢ 498 288 12. Southwest ...........-. 769 553 14. Southwest ...-..-...... 590 814 1% Northeast .........-.... 1, 705 744 155 Northern: 2t2.... /--. 2.5: 1, 627 373 824 20, 000 1882. 534 | July 3. Starrie Arteel and north- 26 COS Uae cise ete eete eee 910 4, Starrie Arteel and north- 508 GE hae ae a ee eee 82 7. Starrie Arteel and north- 887 COS tees Secs tee ey 1, 946 10. Northeastern. ....-..... 1, 368 926 11. Starme Arteelandnear.. 1, 104 13. Northeastern. -.......... 1. O74 847 14. Starrie Arteel ......-... 524 15. Northeastern. ......---- 643 1, 192 16. Starrie Arteel and near. 1,015 18. Northeastern........... 1, 03 1, 040 HOS Nowbheris = -2- a. ae ae 510 20. Northeastern. .......... 145 a Par (33 - 20, 000 1, 063 18838. 403 | July 10. Southwest ............. 507 LOM Northeast... 00.0 cle ac ox 306 139 11. Starrie Arteel ........-- 260 12: Northeast .2:225-...222- 546 283 18. Starrie Arteel .......-.. 321 16. Northeast ..-........-.. 7715 61 16. Southwest .............- 1, 015 17. Starrie Arteel . Soe 130 379 18: Northeast. .... 22... -2.. 467 18; Southwest.22-.2 522222: 1,216 684. ZO eNOLTMECAStecee soe estes 280 20. Southwest ............. 1, 150 442 23. Starrie Arteel ..._...... 766 202 Northeast 2.00 .2.2,-2- re 608 Ze, NOLiREEN 2555222225445 605 30. Starrie Arteel and north- 340 | 21S] oe eee Ae ee 501 | Aug. 6. Starrie Artee] and north- 287 | 7 BAST sce a ee ae 379 13; Northeast ...... oss sse-- 94 645 1, 333 15, 000 568 IN THE PRESENT. Seal-skin record of St. George Island, Alaska, 1871 to 1889, inclusive, etc.—Continued. Killed for food in fall and winter. June 3. 10. ly, yl. 3 2. Starrie Arteel Northeast —.2s.ccecenass Southwest ee ‘“ DOUUULWOESU-- 6 sasc eb eiman . Starrie Arteel and north- . Southwest . Starrie Arteel CASU Scacedewecee secure ee b MOULNWESULL.S<<'s sce cat . Starrie Arteel anid norglin~ east Southwest. 2oscicck onde Starrie Arteel and north- east ee Killed for food in fall and winter. June s Northeast .- ” Starrie Arteel land north- GASU.c cence ev ecwcies ee. ca. 324 20. Starrie Arteel and north- Oe Starrie Arteelccc se caoes 764 OLN sarees faeces 550 Oe SOubhnweshie aoe. eos: 908 23. South west.:.2......2s- 179 26. Starrie Arteel and north- 24, Starrie Arteel and north- OLIN oe eee scike.c ines 894 (9c Ae re ri ee 405 Oi NOTUNCASt Rice -~ cnt soe ce = 438 25. Southwest...:-.:--.-.- 159 29) StarriecATtee) 22 <.02 ced 341 26. Starrie Arteel and north- ualyge 2. POUL WESL. ~.-ichw-onies 341 ORD Me cera cee e ne 520 3F Northeast, soc seecie- (0) 1 ie eee See De eee) cee or Mn gs re er Mee aia Sey ree 6,306 | 7,631 | 18,227 | 12,180 Northwest Coast - 684 | 12,495 | 16,303 931 | 7,843 | 3,575 | 4,097 | 1,945] 3,607 | 15,527 Alaska ‘catch ..<.. 9,965 |100, 896 | 96,283 |101, 248 | 90,150 | 99, 634 | 90,267 | 75,410 | 99,911 | 100, 036 Copper catch <;,.<2\sece- 2a -|< = eaten 7,182 | 21,614 | 30,349 | 34,479 | 38,298 | 25,380 | 19,000 | 28, 211 Total -5.22.2 10, 649 113, 391 119, 768 130, 749 |136, 851 |145, 867 |145, 321 |123, 432 |143, 046 | 168, 249 1880 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884. 1885 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. Luvos Isiand ..... 14,386 | 13.569 | 13,200 | 12, 861 | 16,258 | 10,953 | 18, 667 | 11,068 | 20, 747 8,755 Cape Horn......<. 17,562 | 18,164 | 11,711 4, 655 6, 743 8, 404 909 2, 762 4, 403 3, 021 Northwest Coast .| 13,501 | 16.573 | 23, 207 9,544 | 20,142 | 20, 265 | 33,975 | 43,339 | 40, 000 41, 808 Alaska catch ....-. 100,161 | 9,994 100,100 | 75,914 | 99, 887 | 99,719 | 99,910 | 99, 940 |100, 600 | 100, 000 Copper catch ..... 38, 885 | 45,209 | 89,111 | 86,500 | 26,675 | 48,929 | 41,752 | 54,584 | 46, 333 47,416 DOtal Sccseue 184, 94d |i, 436 |187, 329 |139,474 |169, 705 |183, 270 |190, 213 211, 693 |211, 483 | 201, 000 LOSS TO UNITED STATES. 575 LOSS IF HERD DESTROYED. LOSS TO UNITED STATES. Page 269 of The Case. I have signed the firm name to the statement hereto annexed, which has been prepared from a careful examination of the firm books, and I know it to be true in all re- C@. Francis Bates, p. 509. spects. The seal-skins therein referred to were all purchased at Victoria, British Columbia, and are of the class commonly known as northwest coast skins, ¢. e., skins from animals which were caught in the Pacific Ocean or in the waters of Bering Sea. The state- ment represents all of the skins of this kind which were purchased by my firm between the years 1880 and 1890, inclusive, together with the full prices paid for them. I believe these prices to represent the average value of northwest coast skins at Victoria during these years, except that the price paid for the small lot purchased in 1890 is, as I am in- formed, below the average for that year. I find, however, upon referring to my books, that this lot was composed of small skins, some of them in poor condition. During the year 1891 we purchased no northwest coast skins, and I am therefore unable to state, of my own knowledge, their value in that year, but I understand that in the fall of 1890 and in 1891 it was very much higher than in any previous year, owing entirely to the diminished catch of “seal: skins upon the Pribilof Islands by the lessees of the Gov- ernment during those years. * * * Statement by Martin Bates, jr., § Co., of New York. Number of ie Average Year. erties: price per | Total price. in Victoria. skin. OOO eicttelaminee teeta winieia/aa io cia le sic o1s,a\eisia'a oa) 5) siacese\alvisiee'eis ola aleja(= v.cicin'e'=!< 4, 355 $11.10 $48, 342. 50 eet eee ieee oases a reins aia ine) oan oe Se cine (ois e iw ameccm mie eee 5, 303 9. 35 49, 578. 28 Deeg ete rd ane Sa oa ae eal le ace (eo Shai chatdisre ise ellawinlalavs Ae mlapsia win ee . 22222253 face cae eee See ta dee see chee ie eee 200 Five thousand rounds ammunition for guns and rifles........-...------2.---- 125 Provisions for 20 men four months, at $8 per head per month.......--.......- 640 Insurance,,one-thitd OF 7 Car. scacesccsisas- te 2 seni eens tse ae ee 175 PELAGIC SEALING A SPECULATION. 597 The expenses of a sealing trip in the Bering are, for a four months’ cruise: Map tains ewales, beh] OV ss yo ce sence aad cies cares neces Sebe soe ome See aca Sees $400 pleniscomen wan poo pe Ot Neen. «econ Sacco aambioeeeae ee vata ee se. 1, 400 Five ordinary seamen or boys, at $20 per month.......... 2.2... 22. eee ne nee 400 Paid to hunters, at $2 per skin, 1, 600 an actual average................--00-- 3, 200 5, 400 HotAlkexpenser aM COU hems. mm aew aa eeccer accent jee as Sete coe meses 7, 460 As the hunters are paid by the skin, the expenses would be more if the catch was larger. The expense of a six-boat schooner would be proportionately greater as it would be if the cruise was made longer. Miln’s estimate in his report to the governor-general of Canada is based on a longer cruise in a large schooner, and is no doubt a fair estimate. “Still, the actual expenses of a schooner can not be figured accurately except by the owner, who charges every item of expense against her as it is paid out, and the figures I have given only serve as an approxi- mate guide to the average profits of a sealing trip. According to Mr. Miln’s estimate, a big schooner catching 2,000 seals (an observedly high estimate) would make a profit of $4,440 on her trip if the skins sold for $7.50 each, and he adds that she could catch 3,000 skins if undisturbed by a United States revenue cruiser, and if she could, two things would happen—skins would drop to next to nothing in value, and there would be no seals next year. The average market value of seal-skins taken in the water as com- pared with that of animals properly selected on the seal islands, either of Alaska or Siberia, is — Isaac Liebes, p. 453. about one-third. The former are mostly pregnant cows, the fur of which is thin and poor, compared with the males, and the skins are riddled more or less with bullets and buckshot, making them practically unfit for first-class garments. In ascertaining the value of the vessels that have been seized by the United States Government for illegal sealing in he the Bering Sea I got the record of actual sales .,/%¢% 7 Williams, p. in every case where the vessel had changed hands © during the past six years. Many of the schooners were bought by their last owners at private sale, but others had been sold at auction. The seized schooners belonging to Boscowitz and Warren were all sold at auction in the year 1885, and were bought in by a party in the interest of Boscowitz for $1 each above the lien on them. No one bid higher than that, for the excellent reason that the lien represented in every case the full value of the boat and outfit, and was given by War- ren, in whose name the boats stood, to secure Boscowitz, who, being an American, could not legally own an interest in boats sailing under the sritish flag. I append a certified copy of the sale of these vessels at public auction in Victoria in 1885, SUBJUCT-INDEX, e . Page. Act of reproduction. (See Coition.) Age: 0) tel See ee ees aye oA oe Lae Se ae ere eae ieee cee eee ae 135, 136 «EVES ese i ol hg oo ge a cee a, 142 Alaskan seal herd: and Russian herd, distinction between...-....-.......--2. 222-222 eeeee 92 CTASSHINGH ETON (bo rate cngee ea Demet oe ok ack Aes ue toed hae eee ee oo alia ce 103 Decrease of. (See Decrease.) Doesmot enter inland waters, .c-s..<6sc0-c--25 2s dasec hace eels ohbe le we cu 195 Does not land at Guadalupe Islands -................-. 2222-20220 eeeeee 208 Does not land except on Pribilof Islands ............22..-22........... 188 Does not mingle with Russian herd............ 22.2222. -----.- ee ee eee 99 AVES OL seco mee cecene sie ce2 we aca sh 2) eee es oe ee 140 HGTOCMO MOL oon — wei acine an ie das a aig os sale eee Sa aoe Ne eae gee ere 135 Idle, ViGOVONS.. 222-5 -2<4c Se Ar leet | pk or mer eer cores Gas =o 293 and. On Samo TOOKery 2. 205-465-550 326 4 9 ae ee ae 133 No lack of, om the rookeries: 225222. 2.46 <2. 2ceaeee wee ete 291 Organiza p chGir DAPOMms: <2 5. soem Se a oe ee i 134 Powarof fertilize tons 2 253526 ee ia reese ne oe 137 Sufficient, preserved for breeding purposes... ~ 2-.s.22. ses ssecceccsuas 291 AV UD iLO Lo sae tre ag ate get oe A ar a gc ee 142 WGI Ell Bias Gre Sica = Ciaran wher wae ected Sa oe 104, 140 Canadian investment. (See Investment, Cana‘lian.) Qantoe wel Why Ura Ne COL a caren ta tsa ale ayers pete te 351 Cape: Horn rOOkGrieS.. scm cc ence sie sete ees ose te los Sas Seales tas si oe 490 Cape of Good Hope, protection of seals at........--------------+----- ee 488 Catch of sealing vessels. (See Pelagic catch.) (OE Wan are (ey) ichueskeh gla ted=\ 3 Ob Pee sneer oe eee rere omer rere ners Bare Cause Of death Of pups on the TOOK ErieS.-. 2226. eee aan ere ele ee 146 Cause of decrease. (See Decrease. ) Gases of mipration of AlaskanNerd ..6 «scien yccaevdccrsvcencencyiven=peeee 161 Census of seal life impossible ........... yt A canoe a or Sah raha 88 Classification: Of migrating seals. (See Migration: Manner of traveling.) fe | OP WUPS:eccssew.cas sesame seme oma em = oe setae teil oii ee aie < 104 OSTEO S atanc wiay e aedeagal ue cel reefers cr oon y= arg : 103 Climate of Pribilof Islands ....- ecunmene weeds s Sen Sets | ae tala «tate epee a Close season: As a means of protection of seal herd ..---. .c.- 22.2. --sene jccidjtooaeae DL Coition: Does not tale: placs-iniweater <3 5522 oc Geen ce cea sae ee ae eee nee 138 TP T@VOGiO.L 2 toe oewu veeeea sos eeaee Seika ets aete cinta aieale ese o eer ohercre onal ae tera 139 SUBJECT-INDEX, 601 Commander Islands: Page. DTUVESEOMeetaa state isiercee ore ses clas sieeia cuanto SLY cts EEE Ie ase Ga) hamce 238-242 Condition of natives: TMP ROMEMLOMI Wr. oc eps cicuc cinissiic oti uscc iat pafo eee ee ch tater 214 WUindemAmerican control. S25 .j- Sos am - csosc ce sone a iscie aoe eae Jee 214 lUndernwheRussian' Company 4...5.5..6 220. Lae. cceeee Sete cee: 213 Control and domestication of the seals.......-.-..-----....-------- 217 Course of migration of Alaskan herd........-----2-.-2--2.-. ere eee 164 Cows: IN OOM OTS pis ate a cls, ss.o.6 ca wislares sisicisinse2 sis ce Sige Sacie eel Sot cic stiae 142 My Va i ats IQUAN GS we crete onatieen.ncecas «sto Sear ae ae eee 133 Deathwor,causes death or their pups----sseccsscs5--- ee ance =e 146 Wepariure Ol Mom Aslan Ss. oS~ soca ene ecw e mislecetice scm 157 Destruction of, by pelagic sealing 12-522 cose cc cece ce cee 410 Eighty to ninety per cent of pelagic catch are. (See Testimony of British furriers. ) Peemim ne POUNSTONS OL UlOncce. ee ecees = vin c@ndnue « ccemias man ota 149 INGto\0. ea ae SUS Se ae Se SOS be BOO goo Ge eee oe ae ee eee ee 148 Gestatlonvots period Olt joecciscscemap ese cee ee ces dee tice Ses ce 143 Amerie iberO1 Ns see aetna = we seh aa seene eke ores eae et 143 Kalledion islands:only by accident. 2... -.62 fan Sec c ache e cee 22 Manner of feeding. (See Feeding excursions. ) Minolinoswithsthe DaChelors: js. -secccsc-25 oss csé.c cos te sess se 160 INOUMISHE ODMs GEO WAY PUP Sis om clera eos ct oe Sa eee etc es 144 Number of; that.a bull can fertilizes- 2. ..s.0.. cece Sciacca ance 137 Ntimberof pupsrabea DINbhie 23 [oa 5. cs oo. bled cece ea se cane oe 143 INMUITTD OOF, HOmAMNANOM Veter crsyete ce\-rsceic soe acer aoe cis ociec owes 134. BRO ne CLO MgO te sees ee eee eit esos acim we fie, cfs cian, asic Sue aie eee 223 Searcity of, on rookeries. (See Decrease, lack of male life not the cause, ) Hpecdsor, wile swam Oss Sees Sees cece tac cere Sse ne oe 157 AVG) Olt asc ce jccec cas ces a eee tees ee seses 305 Opinionsiof Indians:as TO CAUSE OL secsve du 148 French furriers, testimony of, as to destruction of females .............-.-- 411 Furriers: American, opinions of, as to the need of protection .-........-......... 496 American, testimony of, as to number of females in pelagic catch ...... 413 British, opinions of, as to need of protection. ............-.....--..---- 494 British, testimony of, as to pelagic catch .....---..---...-.....-----.-. 410 French, opinions of, as to heed of protection --.........22...2.222.---. 495 French, testimony ‘of, as to pelagic catch.....-.--.. 22. 2.2. ee ce eee eke 411 Gafi, used by pelagic sealers. (See Pelagic sealing, sinking.) eR eee Oy URIOURON feats ewes veers eee eam acinne afeee cies. t56 tee oIasiess 143 Ra Ne ae te ore Ri Rais ae ore oo Seatac ra has Secale ton ei Ste 104 Guadalupe Islands, seals of, a different species from Alaskan seals........2. 208 Guns. (See Firearms.) Habits: Of the Alaskan seal ..-.- Be COC OSCE n GAME es aco orice cit maa series ae vi (See Pribilof Islands; Alaskan seal herd; Pups; Bulls; Cows; Bache- lors; Migration.) Hares: Chon ASB Raya sos Deer ae Rec ee eee eye ee 143 DOr rani ZavlOM Of TOG 2. «cacescnns sassnescseinidpos~seaces seb sa cSeees i41 NUD eR Ot COM Sad UNGrae rata fee a eelss Jao os 8525 eae ao wien SUS 134 Ba ETO 0 ape calreee mints ater a oleic eal Galas an ogee deem Gos = eee 13 PoE 2 SP OUNOS fece tegewe cen come eems ese aiina ooo eels one's Sti deen eheceecs 520 88 Eom Grote Leena sed eres cian ee Ne cere, See a SN Sco Seda Me So cwe eee e Sec 81 Hunters. (See Indian hunters and Pelagic sealers.) Hiintinio manner of seals by Indians®:-i2 2.2/4.6 oescece sles sese obsece. tence 346, 351 Improvement over Russian methods of taking seals.....-.-..---.-....----- 251 iia DulitiveOte pp auO SW iler seem esis ce Seana ean Al cheese Alo cece 106 PEGG lS Opie emer emma oS esler ne Clann) Gs Seeiye Senet erie Aes aye tae Sees 257 (GieraSyetal Tha si tete tO) 28 ee Sa ee ee 267 Owed ete rit Cd weet nsaterne sree Ae oh Se fe ee ee eee 91 VO WASH OWMersasses\soccceiccocas eck eeeemeee ek ool ttc ee essence sites eos 257 Resulting from American management ...--..---.-.----.------.-----6- Sy | Increase of seal herd. (See Increase.) Increase of sealing fleet ...--. SOUS RD dao OB Rete orate CeCe eee er 327 yodian hunters: Description of spear, canoe, and manner of hunting by...........-.-.-. 346, 351 Lose very few seals struck. (See also Percentages lost of seals struck.) 346 Opinions’ of, 48 to meed of protection... ...2.2..-c0ecl nec ecees neces ds 501 Indians: A aoe Os ANON COBB. 4.0 eet aaewaates Ema slwess sates che oe colee sees Bol Employed as hunters prior to 1885...... 2... ----2- .2cece coon cee ene a 331 G04 SUBJECT-INDEX. Indians—Continued. Makah on cause of decrease. (See Indians: Opinions of, as to cause of decrease. ) Opinions-of, a8 to auuse of Mecrease..223 1.255 .caentee ce suks as caer Seal-hunting alone the coast: Dy —-.2- 222. 2sscse6 cess -ecens =e e sees Indiscriminate slaughter in pelagic sealing ... 2.022... 2s sees cece csscesce or Industry. (See Seal-skin industry.) Investment, Canadian: In pelavic sealing: in 1890; exagoernted=-.. 22. 2225 -sass-cesce seen wane Ini-sedlsiiirindustry 1 W900. 22 ook oes soo Soca ee aie aston Questionable’ 22s. onsce sok tess cea oced oe ese sesso no eee ree ae Gril me Uh Oi SCS = = 2s Pe ae, fais ciate iar water ein inl tem lew ere Killable class, The. (See Bachelors.) Killing: HMxXGeOSSiVO, Cause Of COCrCiSe. Loss val sce 222% Canes. cee seeeeeeee cscs MaNNEeINOf ONISANdUs 2. cnesen eee eee JA eae na Stee Killing grounds: : Located near hauhnp prounds. 2.) sse4 ae ss seaiesoars nee ee Killing of certain number of male seals: A DONGHIirs scious 455 ass ae mae eas eter ae ae alae eS eaerwa na oe eee Doesmotaech bith whe... s.. ss 2ee eed ees feo ee eee Killing seals, regulations for. (See Killing: Manner of, on islands.) Killing seals at sea. (See Pelagic sealing.) TUG BSG OE LS Ores aaa s Soe eters tas alee tenis! Sn mene etre el a ae 40a see Allowed 100,000 male-seals to be taken ...... -..2.5e00 ccc c ce domemens Letters from naturalists. (See Naturalists. ) Lobosislands; protection of Reals at..cs25.. 222.2); sie cess see seek ss eee London seal-skin industry. (See Loss to Great Britain.) Iossit Alaskan herd. destroyed: -.5 222242226 dae es teleaee bosses eon seer (PO Ph GO rosass Saco cotter el hoe ee To.Great: Britains: <2. es A Sct kee ented cee eke es Sse eee ee TOUR ON DTAIGS Soe. eee oe ae ee re err ee 2 eee fe Makah Indians. (See Indians.) Male seals not injured by redriving. (See Management: Overdriving and redriving.) Management: Improvement over Russian method of taking seals..........--.-------- Manner of taking seals on the islands ..........---.2- 20-2052 eseces ance Methods of. (See Driving, overdriving and redriving, and killing.) Notancanse0f deereagse.. 3252-2. seh ce. Sse Shc wae eee tee eae eee ere Resul@ot Atienr cam s- 5525255. 3 8c tee aaa eee ee ee ee Mina coment Of 100 Kens! 2 sc5 2 oe os eee ee oe ae Be ae ee ee (AATMAELOHI 2 oo 3.ue sees. segs ates edly aie seme eine seas ae mee ee eee Manarementot the sealss: 2: t2 lees 22-25 seg kos. 6 ee eee eee Control and doniestiegmom -6: (ce anes acces perce ee ee =e ee MAB GLOT Wc 36 ssa ok aes eed ee ae ee ee eee oe ee Manner of taking seals on thé islands .2222...2. 2.222. <2 Ss 5 ee eee Manner of hunting. Of white and Indian hunters. (See Pelagic sealing: Methods of; Indian hunters; white hunters. ) Maiimen of trivelanms 352824 cuck os os = ae oe ane a atone so Sere Late eee Markets: ihe WOsta lS 6s 2s ae tee sashes aan ose Ree eee ee ee eer Pane Means necessary for protection of Alaskan herd.......----....--.- isa soca Method of killing seals on the islands. (See Managemeut.) Methods of management. (See Management.) 531 508 SUBJECT-INDEX. 605 Migration. Page. ATLbALOUe SAIS MAVOMO AS 222 cels< sie ue co cena eaceacoce en ch veces ise base 162 CourscoteAlaskan sherds 2c) oe. se tees ee eee eee 164 During, seal herd does not enter inland waters......-..-....--..-.-.--- 195 During, seal herdidoes not land s5.20. 2.2.2 ....2 oe ee Seen ee 188, 195 ackvot food supply .a Cause Of. 222. os5oaccw st soc es eee coc cee 161 RommeMOn trav Cle CUI s. eno Panace ara cee choco ndnen eek ence 186 Op Alaskan seal herd: se... sas.5ccaes--Secee omens ceedee seca se ot Sosceesce 161 OfpRussiantsedlsherd 4.2 eens cece «a2 hie. cones See ee ec et Seco cce tae Beebe 208 Seals travel in irregular body. (See Migration: Manner of traveling.) Wanteriweaulen as CauserOne:.S2ss 52.05. o52 022 cso8n5 ccs Sole. eee See 161 Natives of Pribilof Islands, condition of. (See Condition of natives.) INGUNMALISHS OPINIONS Ol... ccc. wccehe con cs-s ss seh oa bccs Sasson sees ccekeee.s 490 1D) Sea Lita yal ex VOUT O Uke erere rn ta Sey yee ee fm ty an BE wa octets 492 DT doe Ne we ANUEN Is Sees aes one eee ee eee een ae eee Ne eee SE e A sae 490 reap earla BSC Lt ules sem, tas einen = Peete Se tes epee Sysiac oS oo Sapa lee So. S'o 5 493 Dra Nudter dla CNAl Wetec e oe nad: ce ee eee noeeneieerse See adenan toads 491 Pore CN OMOGS Soe acu sei Pae oe Sas Seed toes ode a ese Sane alles 493 IDLOtMNOLM@ens OGM. soma eeceic ee ne bees ecoee seston ck deta sacs oss Seek 493 PLOt al aye, LLU O\iscc ema eee ee nee ees oon So Bad Sem eeibe bs cmicie Ss 492 Newfoundland regulations protecting hair seals....--..-- = = 488 New Zealand, protection of seals at......---.----.....---. 0-220 eee eee eee 488 North Pacific Ocean, necessity of protecting seal herd in. (See Protection.) Northwest catch. (See Pelagic catch.) PCE RCA WIA TLC. wns aside wen cniew weeiciseiis ca ecee eed sce. loess 470 Number of male seals, killing of, a benefit --...--...-....2...--..-2...----. 233 Number of seals allowed to be killed .........................2-..--------- 232 Numberot seals.lost of those Iilled /....- 0. 2.22 22.22.2222 cece wedal eee. 385 Number of seals to be killed fixed by Secretary of the Treasury.........--- 232 Nursing females, destruction of, by pelagic sealing .-..............-.-.---.- 451 Open- sea sealing. (See Pelagic sealing. ) Other seal herds: i DTS SOUCY 01) BR Sea ae ry ge 483 Destruction of, caused by indiscriminate killing --............222...... 483 Ria OE SOA NOY CSBOIS stro 2 oo oa. fae barge 'e slo eiln ait (d eee twe soci cee 4p biniedlesia Bol URI ORE Rt) it SR a Oe Oo eR a 247 Pamesaved when seals killed by... 2.222 see se see ee ecb eds 236, 287, 246 Overheating. (See Overdriving.) Pelagic catch: Eighty to ninety per cent female seals. (Sce Furriers, British, testi- mony of, as to pelagic catch.) RAIN e LON On, ON Vessels SEIZ6U Ses 2 << clea ecw ae pe conse venesed teen 427 Orel SOA Nex AMIUM GION. Ol g same pe a se aie os eae no a ces. See ees oe 419 deainmony of American furriers as to number of fem: se Sel te eee ee 413 Testimony of British furriers as to number of females in............... 410 Testimony of French furriers as to number of females in...........-.-- 411 Testimony of pelagic sealers as to number of females in .............-. 422 Pelagic sealers: Opinions of, as to cause of decrease. ........---.--------2- 22 s-0e ee eeee 321 Opinions: Ob, a8: bo nee0- Of Protecwloml Io Feta. Heo con Soaeisd baceletmeene 497 Testimony of, as to number of females in catch - GSE ee sabes cee ene eae 429 We pone used 2 ostre, «tee ies etic ow ace Satatess Stace 362 Pelagic sealing, absolute prohibition of, necessary. lagic sealing.) (See Piohipigios of pe- 606 SUBJECT-INDEX. Palio Casal Oe cass oatgas chicacienJe¥s teats ceete ed olen ates eee eae Ave of vessels engaged in. (See Sealskin industry: Canadian invest- ment in 1890.) Attitude of séalsiwhen aimed at --6 s2 2 5-5 2a cmaele oe eeewie ses sccem= es Canadiananvestnicnt melso0)-- 5-2 s ee eee nee eees (aS OCL6ASe sata Scie cae Nears ie ee aie ca cre tren Destruction of female seals" by <2... 2-225. -s2esse-0. 22-22 Sse Ss- See eae Destruction of nursing femules ly: 32. 62s..2+eessckhacsaeee ese eee Destruction of prepnant females by .1-. 2... --5-2 52 o ee ee cee eee Distance of, from islands. (See Prohibition of pelagic sealing within a Zone. ) WiTeaTmMs ANtrOmUCed- AM he coc face etcc ce cae ena eae oe eee eae eee eee ee ee EASES GO YE apres aoe tec ee rene mre ee Indian hunters, manner of.....-.-. Indians employed as hunters prior to 1855 .........- Indisoriminaté slaughter <2: <...s2stuy 2252-222 cee Methods: Ofenccts ccm cccn eae ois ee a2 nore Sia aa a oy one te Percentage of seals lost—general statement --..-.-- Percentage of seals lost of those killed by......---- Percentage lost Of scale Struck .te¢scccnas seetee cee eee eae eee eee ee a 130 Wet ont S52 2cc'cie Fosse Se ee ee ee eee ae ee eee, en 104 Pups, dead: Donon die. of epidemic. ose es oe ce ae tear eee ee ee 476-480 Ded Ot Starvation 1.22 Seee ace eee come ee, ee ee oe ee eee AT4 INGREASG OLS a2 22% 5. ease Re ee eee ee hice ae ee 466 Inspected by British Bering Sea Commissioners ...........--..-2------ 471, 472 Numiberot prion tio LRGs 2-2 32 =.8= 224 see ces co ete oo ee 468 Nip ber Of, IneleOl 2222) cea cee oe es eS 470 On the rookentes. 52552 seas. teh d cewe eos oats oes eee See eee 466 WIMerGh “AP PEALAN Ce Gh ce Meee ee cee ee ea ae eee oP 469 Pup seals. (See Pups.) Raids: Difficult to make. (See Decrease, raids not the cause.) Number of-on Tookeries2. 2 saes- esse ee eee © ee sen ee eee 297 On Tookerics nOt-adause- Of deareisé 22222-22202 25 eee ee 296 Reason pregnant females are taken by pelagic sealers...-.......--.---.---- 448 REGU YING = Ate ee aoe sae Soe bee ee eee eae ee eee eee ae 247 Maile seals not injured. Dy <222 cc anseasce siccce s2- 52s see ee eee 247-250 Regulations: Against use of firearnis. (See Management, disturbance of breeding seals. ) As to number killed. (See Management, number killed.) Protecting breeding seals from molestation ........-....----.---------- 223 ETI SOS cet ee emccreee aisl ete dG ie ole eh eee ee 28, 230 Only bachelor seals killed on the islands.......-......---.-.-.----+--+- 228 Replies of scientists. (See Protection.) Reproduction. (See Coition.) RESIS: OL DOlLIMIG ‘SeALIN 755-5 ances eae ares aes cele Ase Seas 366 Rifle. (See Firearms.) ROOKGMES ce eiaco sence ce socoes sete we See oe eo ale Bert a a ee AnitarcuiG dep leno Oi, ea decc tas cases ee ee eee 483 Breeding orowis S252 5-2 5-5 o2hs S22 5as eee ae eee ee 87 Condition Ofashow decrease... 5.2 82 o. 25. ee 91, 269 Disorganigation’ of - 222229. 3 ose ewieweee ele ee oe eee eee 141 Eanlin or Oro wnds eos Loe Se ee we eee ona ee ee eee 88 Management of. (See Management.) On Gane Homi. J 54.22 oe tae Soe ead ae Se ee ee ee ee 490 Onibobos isltinds: 2.2.225. 222 - oo Ss te lee le ee ee 490 Raids on. (See Raids.) Russian method of taking seals, improvement over ......---.-------------- 251 Russian seal herd: DSSTO RSA OE id ae.csccecen beet ecween oars ete enter ee ee 487 Distinetion between, and Alaskan!--<22.<:29 2.25. 222.2. 22 a5se gee 92 Does not mingle with Alaskan herd ..........-...-.-..-----.---------- 99 NOT ATOM: Olt aa.c0 cee cae amen oe wena enkees eta. Sa oe 208 Wintersa1n Sea'of Okhotele. 225 or 52. oe one eee ee ene ee ee 209 MGUUGLIO' IEG SIGLINE x. xo 5a ee cee ea ee ces epee 256 San Diego. Enters Bering Sea in 1883.........-.. Scone wise as SUBJECT-INDEX 609 Sealing fleet: Page. Comparison of increase of, with decrease ...... 2.0... 022-2. eeee ee cence 327 Did not. enter Bering Sea before decrease began .-...--......----....-- 327 J BNE Ree CGMS) Gi Sy ea ea oa 827 Sealing in the water. (See Pelagic sealing.) Sealing vessels: Age of. (See Seal-skin industry; Canadian investment in 1890.) Sealeries. (See Seals.) Seal fisheries. (See Seals.) Seals: (See also Alaskan seal herd.) Are domestic animals. (See Control and domestication.) (OIASSIITeaO MeO Temes mesege eps erase ole ele occ ae een wis ee SS ee 103 Driving of. (See Driving.) Food of. (See Cows: Food.) How, decrease of, Mevermined oo. .2 6-2 cee ee cecss woes eemdcececsee ec ches 91 Ho wamnerease Ob, UOLEMMINEM eaceg tine sec as tite ata wes los eens case cee 91 Like domestic cattle. (See Control and domestication. ) Male, lack of, mot cause of decreases... s.< 2.5 .005 secs once cen ceae ceccce 9291 Malornopanjuredubyaredriving 22222022225 acd ccs Scosche ete) se cse. a. 247 Male, sufficient, preserved for breeding purposes..............-...-.-.- 291 Mina SOMME TLGhO lessee se eee osc ee ese roe. oo aes ina Sayae ee Hie co See Sok 211-268 Manner of taking, on the islands. (See Driving and killing.) Nursing females, destruction of, by pelagie sealing -.......2.....2222.. 5 Oiaienrag ole GoM = teen ce sere emer t aero Mae hee Son eee oe oer 162 Pregnant females, destruction of, by pelagic sealing ...-............... 429 Protection of. (See Protection. ) Sex of, can not be distinguished in the water.......................... 366 NpecdhorewhilemsiwaAM min Doses ae oh snare eee 2 cee cece een eee 157 Ryoundiiecof: by perme tCrnOUl INO so seed neck lds wee wel stceus Sons tses 402 Seals, Antarctic. (See Antarctic seals.) Seals, female— Eighty to ninety per cent of pelagic catch are. (See British furriers, testimony of, as to destruction of female seals.) Percentage of, taken by pelagic sealers....-.-. 2... ...00. cece ee eee eee 410 Gasp Ose yy SIMIIN Ose yeaa is eet tae camila ice cas etes bd Sones ok de 404 Seals of the Guadalupe Islands, a different species from Alaskan seals... ... 208 Seals, pregnant females, destruction of, by pelagic sealers..........4....... 429 Galles UUb TNC US Gi vere Paes Ses cect = sacra ono So Sees Sars ae ie aol Se 529 Wenendenceonwlaskan: herds. s225522 2c Lbid., Bk. FV, ch. V;p. 378. We are in the next place to inquire into the object of property, or to examine what things are capable of coming under that condition. Now to give a thing this capacity we judge these two qualifications to be necessary. First. That it be able to afford some use to men mediately or imme- diately; by itself or by its connection with somewhat else: and Secondly. That it be someway or other so far under the power of men, as that they may take possession of it and keep it for their occasions. And further, since property implies a right of excluding others from your possession, without which right would be altogether insignificant if it could not be effectually exercised ; it would be in vain for you to claim that as your own which you can by no means hinder others from sharing with you. II. Yet some things there are which though very beneficial to man- kind, yet by reason of their vast extent are inexhaustible, so that all may enjoy them together and yet no man suffer in his particular use. To appropriate things of this nature would be malicious and inhuman; and on this account it is usual to attribute an exemption from property to the light and heat of the sun, to the air, to running water, and the like. Page 379. IfI. We are likewise to observe that as the substances of those things which men have dominion over, are composed of different kinds of matter, so each thing is taken and possessed in that way which the condition of its nature admits. For the more closely anything can be confined and as it were shut up, the more easily will it produce the effects of property against the claims of others; and consequently the more capable a thing is of being guarded from unjust invaders, the greater security we promise ourselves i the property of it. Yet, as we are not immediately to conclude a thing exempt from property because it cannot, without some trouble be kept from other hands, so, in ease a thing be in so wide a manner spread and diffused as that either it is morally impossible it should fall under any method of keeping, or that it cannot be kept without much greater charges than the fruits and advantages of it would countervail, it is not to be supposed that any CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 619 person desires to fix a property which can bring him nothing but bur- then and expense in defending it; though to render a thing capable of being appropriated it is not strictly necessary that we should inclose it, or be able to inelose it within artificial bounds, or such as are differ- ent from its own substance; it is sufficient if the compass and extent of it can be any way determined. Tbid., Vol. I, ed. 1729, Bk. IV, ch. v, sec. 12, p. 379. (English transla- tion.) There are thing's which as they afford us different uses may in regard to some uses be spent and exhausted, and yet in regard to other uses yield a never-failing abundance. Now as on the one side there is no reason why such things as those should not be brought under property, so, on the other side, the law of kindness and humanity forbids us to deny the inexhaustible use of them to any person that in a friendly and peaceable manner desires it. SHELDON Amos, A Systematic View of the Science of Jurisprudence London, 1872, ch. x, p. 122. It is scarcely possible to picture a condition of human life in which the fact of ownership is not even dimly and imperfectly recognized. In the most barbarous condition it seems to be essential to the possi- bility of preserving human life that there should be found a prevalent acknowledgement of the claims of individual persons to enjoy the undis- turbed use of the materials they need for their support; of the weapons wanted for defence against beasts of prey, and of the instruments re- quired for providing these materials and weapons. It is true, also, that this dawning fact of ownership expresses something more than a mere condition precedent to material progress, though the fact owes its most conspicuous development to the obvious convenience of enforcing and extending proprietary claims in sucha way as to encourage agriculture by cherishing a habit of reliance on the future fruits of present labor; to favour the division of labour; and to promote the practices of self- restraint, of saving, and of continuous accumulation, apart from which industry and commerce could never advance beyond an embryonic stage. The fact of ownership, however, beyond all this, has its exact correlative in the dignity and independence of the human spirit itself. It represents and enforces by an objective symbolism in the world with- out the true relation in which man ever stands to his fellows; at every moment of his career he is called upon to abstain from intruding upon the realm of unfettered action within which each one of his fellows moves at large.~ Each of these, also, is called by an equally peremptory mandate to display the like abstinence in respect of him. The phys- ical objects around, the soil, the streams, the products of the mines, the beasts of the field, and especially all things wrought or changed by human hands present the earliest, and at one epoch, the only materials on behalf of which the competitive and endless spiritual struggle cease- lessly rages. It is only at the last climax of civilization that the truth begins to be apprehended, that the only justification of proprietary claim is a special call to a more devoted and concentrated service on behalf of those who do not share in it. Between this last and the primitive epoch mankind passes with respect to the fact of ownership through all the vicissitudes of (1) simple occupation, (2) rude rivalry, (3) tolerated privilege, (4) selfish absorption, (5) sharp legal distribu- tion, (6) revolutionary communism, terminating finally in the last stage of, (7) appropriation recognized solely as a trust for humanity. 620 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. Page 128. The kind of physical appropriation of which a thing is susceptible depends on the constitution and qualities of the thing itself. Things differ from each other in size, durability, mobility, chemical and mechanical structure, as well as in the amount of demand for them arising from the greater or less quantity of them that is present, or from their greater or less serviceableness for the purposes of human life. ; weeee L. Natural” agents as opposed to all other things. As owner- ship nnplies the useof some things by oneor more persons to the exclusion of all other persons, where a thing habituaily exists in such supera- bundant quantity as to satisfy the utmost possible demands of every person in the community, there is in the case of that thing no occasion for ownership. Thus, it is customary to say that air, light, and the water of the sea are generally not capable of being owned. Particular circumstances, however, may limit the abundance and the unlimited sup- ply of any of these things, and the dense and struggling life of modern cities or the artificial relations of modern states notoriously impart to every one of them in some of their forms a capacity of being owned. Por instance, air combined with combustible compounds taking the form of what is called gas; air and light, regarded as essentials to the complete enjoyment of other things, ‘and capable of being obstructed by the interposition of other things; waters of the sea mainly enclosed by the territory of a state, or within a definite distance of the shore bordering such territory, give rise to rights, duties and remedies of exactly the same nature as do things indisputably capable of strict legal appropriation. The true mode of distinguishing things capable of ownership from all other things, is to ase ert: ain whether or not any benefit can be conferred by law upon individual persons employing them for some purpose or other, by protecting them against the inter- ference of other persons. It is of no consequence to the jurist Lae the purpose is, however relevant this may be to the legislator as a guide to the kind of laws he shall make. It is of no consequence het are the kinds of remedies which the legislator shall invent in order to guard the free and undisturbed employment of these things. Accident, no doubt, will, from time to time, as in the case of certain animals, of mineral products, and of other heterogeneous classes of objects ec: vpri- ciously determine their capability of appropriation ; but the above prin- ciple will always reassert itself, and this is the only principle which it is possible here to accept as a permanent and efficacious test. Page 131. : The very earliest things owned must have been things that could easily be carried from place to place; such as food, arms, dress orna- ments and rough implements of husbandry. It would appear, however, that in the chief communities to which research has been hitherto extended the first existence of true laws of ownership is associated with what may be called the systematization of Family life and with the stability of an agricultural Ef ite of society. Itis only at a far later stage that the individual citizen disengages himself from the family group, and becomes, for the purpose of being invested with and pro- tee ted in the enjoyment of rights of ownership, as well as for other purposes, the immediate object of the attention of the legislator. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 621 VATTEL, Law of Nations, 7th Amer. ed. 1849, sec. 86, p. 37. § 86. Nations are obliged to cultivate the home trade,—first, because it is clearly demonstrated from the law of nature, that mankind ought mutually to assist each other, and as far as in their power, contribute to the perfection and happiness of their fellow-creatures; whence arises, after the introduction of private property, the obligation to resign to others, at a fair price, those things which they have oceasion for, and which we do not destine for our own use. Secondly, society being established with the view that each may procure whatever things are necessary to his own perfection and happiness—and a home trade being the means of obtaining them—the obligations to carry on and improve this trade are derived from the very compact on which the society was formed. Finally, being advantageous to the nation, it is a duty the people owe to themselv¢ es, to make this commerce flourish. § 87. For the same reason, drawn from the welfare of the state, and also to procure for the citizens everything they want, a nation is obliged to promote and carry on a foreign trade. Of all the modern states, England is most distinguished in this respect. The parliament have their eyes constantly fixed on this important object; they effect- ually protect the navigation of the merchants, and, by considerable bounties, favor the exportation of superfluous commodities and mer- chandises. In a very sensible production! may be seen the valuable advantages that kingdom has derived from such judicious regulations. § 88. Let us now see what are the laws of nature and the rights of nations in respect. to the commerce they carry on with each other. Men are obliged mutually to assist each other as much as possible, and to contribute to the perfection and happiness of their fellow-creatures ; whence it follows, as we have said above, that after the introduction of private property, it became a duty to sell to each other at a fair price what the possessor himself has no occasion for, and what is necessary to others; because, since that introduction of private property, no one ean, by any other means, procure the, different things that may be necessary or useful to him, and calculated to render life pleasant and agreeable. Nor, since right springs from obligation, the obligation which we have just established gives every man ‘thet ight of procuring the things he wants, by purchasing them at a reasonalde price trom those who have themselves no occasion for them. We have also seen that men could not free themselves from the authority of the laws of nature by uniting in civil society, and that the whole nation remains equally subject to those laws in its nationa! capacity; so that the natural and necessary law of nations is no other than the law of nature properly applied to nations or sovereign states, from all which it follows that a nation has a right to procure, at an equitable price, whatever articles it wants, by purchasing them of other nations who have no occasion for them. This is the foundation of the right of commerce between different nations, and in particular, of the right of buying. SERGEANT STEPHEN’S New Commentaries on the Laws of England. Vol. I, Bk. LU, pp. 159-165, 6th ed. 1868. In the beginning of the world, as we are informed by the Holy Writ, the All Bountiful Creator gave to man “dominion over all the earth; and over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air. and over every living thing that moveth ape the earth”. 1 Remarks on iit Adyantages and Disadvantages of France and Great Britain with respect to Commerce, 622 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. « Hence the earth and all things therein are the general property of all mankind, exclusive of other beings, from the immediate gift of the Creator. And while the earth continued bare of inhabitants, it is rea- sonable to suppose that all was in common among them, and that every one took from the public stock, to his own use, such things as his imme- diate necessities required. These general notions of property were then sufficient to answer all the purposes of human life; and might perhaps still have answered them, had it been possible for mankind to have remained in a state of primeval simplicity : as may be collected from the mannersof many Ameri- ‘an nations when first discovered by the Europeans; and from the ancient method of living among the first Europeans themselves, if we may credit either the memorials of them preserved in the golden age of the poets, or the uniform accounts given by historians of those times, wherein erant omnia communia et indivisa omnibus, veluti wrum cunctis patri- montium esset'!, Not that this communion of goods seems ever to have been applicable, even in the earliest ages, to aught but the substance of the thing; nor could it be extended to the use of it. For, by the law of nature and reason, he who first began to use it, acquired therein a kind of transient property, that lasted so long as he was using it, and no longer; or to speak with greater precision, the right of possession continued for the same time only that the act of possession lasted’. Thus the ground was in common, and no part of it was the permanent property of any manin particular; yet whoever was in the occupation of any determined spot of it—for rest, for shade, or the like,—acquired for the time a sort of ownership, from which it would have been unjust and contrary to the law of nature, to have driven him by force: but the instant that he quitted the use or occupation of it another might seize it without injustice. Thus also a vine or other tree might be said to be in Common, as all men were equally entitled to its produce; and yet any private individual might gain the sole property of the fruit which he had gathered for his own repast. A doctrine well illustrated by Cicero, who compares the world to a greattheatre, which is common to the publie, and yet the place which any man has taken is, for the time, his own. “But when mankind inereased in number, craft, and ambition, it became necessary to entertain conceptions of more permanent domin- ion, and to appropriate to individuals not the immediate wse only, but the very substance of the thing to be used. Otherwise innumerable tumults must have arisen, and the good order of the world been con- tinually broken and disturbed, while a variety of persons were striving who should get the first occupation of the same thing, or disputing which of them had ac tually gained it. As human life also grew more and more refined, abundance of conveniences were devised “to render it more easy, commodious and agreeable; as habitations for shelter and safety, and raiment for warmth and decency. But no man would be at the trouble to provide either so long as he had only an usufructuary property in them which was to cease the instant that he quitted posses- sion; if, as soon as he waiked out of his tent, or pulled off his garment, the next stranger who came by would have’ aright to inhabit the one and to wear the other. In the case of habitations in particular, it was natural to observe, that even the brute creation to whom everything else was in Common, 1, maintained a kind of perm manent pr operty i in their ' Justin, I, 43, a 2Barbeyr. Puff. 1.4. ¢. 4. ’Quemadmodum theatrum cum commune sit, recte tamen dici potest, ejus esse eum locum quem quisque occuparit, De Fin.13, ¢, 20. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 623 dwellings, especially for the protection of their young; that the birds .of the air had nests, and the beasts of the field had caverns, the inva- sion of which they esteemed a very flagrant injustice, and would sacri- fice their lives to preserve them. Hencea property was soon established in every man’s house and homestall; which seem to have been originally mere temporary huts or movable cabins, suited to the design of Provi- dence for more speedily peopling the earth, and suited to the wander- ing life of their owners, before any extensive property in the soil or ground was established. And there can be no doubt but that mova- bles of every kind became sooner appropriated than the permanent substantial soil; partly because they were more susceptible of a long occupancy, which might be continued for months together without any sensible interruption, and at length by usage ripen into an established right; but principally because few of them could be fit for use till improved and meliorated by the bodily labour of the occupant; which bodily labour, bestowed upon any subject which before lay in common to all men, is universally allowed to strengthen very materially, the title that mere occupancy gives to an exclusive property therein. The article of food was a more immediate call, and therefore a more early consideration. Such as were not contented with the spontaneous product of the earth, sought for more solid refreshment in the flesh of beasts, which they obtained by hunting. But the frequent disappoint- ments incident to that method of provision induced them to gather together such animals as were of a more tame and sequacious nature; and to establish a permanent property in their flocks and herds, in order to sustain themselves in a less precarious manner, partly by the milk of the dams, and partly by the flesh of the young. The support of these their cattle made the article of water also a very important point. And therefore the Book of Genesis (the most venerable monu- ment of antiquity, considered merely with a view to history) will fur- nish us with frequent instances of violent contentions concerning wells, the exclusive property of which appears to have been established in the first digger or occupant, even in such places where the ground and herbage remained yet in common. Thus we find Abraham, who was but a sojourner, asserting his right to a well in the country of Abimelech and exacting an oath for-his security, ‘because he had digged that well'”. And Isaac, about ninety years afterwards, reclaimed this, his father’s property, and after much contention with the Philistines, was suffered to enjoy it in peace’. All this time the soil and pasture of the earth remained still in com- mon as betore, and open to every occupant; except perhaps in the neighbourhood of towns, where the necessity of a sole and exclusive property in lands (for the sake of agriculture) was earlier felt, and therefore more readily complied with. Otherwise, when the multitude of men and cattle had consumed every convenience on one spot of ground, it was deemed a natural right to seize upon and occupy such other lands as would more easily supply their necessities. This prac- tice is still retained among the wild and uncultivated nations that have never been formed into civil states, like the Tartars and others in the east; where the climate itself and the boundless extent of their territory conspire to retain them still in the same savage state of vagrant liberty, which was universal in the earliest ages; and which, Tacitus informs -us, continned among the Germans till the decline of the Roman 'Genesis, XXI, 30. 2Genesis, XXVI, 15, 18, etc. 624 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. Empire’. Wehavealso a striking example of the same kind in the his- tory Abraham and his nephew Lot®. When their joint substance became so great that pasture and other conveniences grew scarce, the natural consequence was that a strife arose between their servants; so that it was no longer practicable to dwell together. This contention Abraham thus endeavored to compose: “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between, thee and me. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, | pray thee, from me. If thou will take the left hand, then I ‘will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left”. This plainly implies an acknowledged right in either to occupy whatever ground he pleased that was not preoccupied by other tribes. ‘And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, even as the garden of the Lord. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan, and journeyed east; and Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan”. Upon the same principle was founded the right of migration, or sending colonies to find out new habitations, when the mother country was over charged with inhabitants, which was practiced as well by the Phenicians and Greeks, as the Germans, Secythians and other northern people. And so long as it was confined to the stocking and cultivation of desert, uninhabited countries, it kept strictly within the limits of the law of nature. But how far the seizing on countries already peopled, and driving out or massacring the innocent and defenceless natives, merely because they differed from their invaders in language, in religion, in customs, in government or in colour; how far such a conduct was consonant to nature, to reason or to Christianity, deserved well to be considered by those who have rendered their names immor- tal by thus civilizing mankind. As the world by degrees grew more populous, it daily became more difficult to find out new spots to inhabit, without encroaching upon foriner occupants; and by constantly occupying the same individual spot, the fruits of the earth were consumed, and its spontaneous pro- duce destroyed, without any provision for a future supply or succes- *. sion. It therefere became necessary to pursue some regular method of providing a constant subsistence; and this necessity produced, or at least promoted and encouraged, the art of agriculture. And the art of agriculture, by a regular connection and consequence, introduced and established the idea of a more permanent property in the soil than had hitherto been received and adopted. It was clear that the earth would not produce her fruits in sufficient quantities without the assistance of tillage; but who would be at the pains of tilling it if another might watch an opportunity to seize upon and enjoy the product of his in- dustry, art and labour? Had not, therefore, a separate property in lands as well as movables been vested in some individuals, the world must have continued a forest, and men have been mere animals of prey: which, according to some philosophers, is the genuine state of nature. Whereas now (so graciously has Providence interwoven our duty and our happiness together,) the result of this very necessity has been the ennobling of the human species, by giving it opportunities of improving its rational faculties, as well as of exerting its natural. Necessity begat property; aud in order to ensure that property, recourse was had to civil society, which brought along with it a long train of inseparable concomitants; states, governments, laws, punish- 1 Colant discreti et diversi; ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus, placuit.” De Mor. Ger. 16. 2Genesis, € XIII. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 625 ments, and the public exercise of religious duties. Thus connected together it was found that a part only of society was sufficient to pro- vide, by their manual labour, for the necessary subsistence of all; and leisure was given to others to cultivate the human mind, to invent useful arts, and to lay the foundations of science. Page 352. Both Grotius and Puffendorf deduce the appropriation of things, which must have been originally common to all men, from the very con- stitution and organic laws and necessities of the social state; and such appropriation is, aS we have already observed, necessary not only for the use and enjoyment of things, but for the peace of society and the very existence of arts, agriculture and every branch of industry. But it follows from these very principles, that things the exclusive appro- priation of which either to a portion of mankind or to certain individ- uals, or exclusive purposes, is unnecessary for the objects of the social state and the purposes above referred to, must remain by natural law common to all men, as they are evidently intended to be. Thus light and air cannot be brought into the exclusive power of any one person, for their use is common to all and no kind of exclusive appropriation is requisite for their full enjoyment. They are, therefore, not divided among anumber of owners as other things are. On the same principles the Roman law holds running water to be common to all men. But this decision does not apply to waters the exclusive appropriation of which is necessary for certain purposes, such as water inclosed in a pipe or vessel for some particular use. The common right to running water, therefore, exists only in those cases where the quantity of water iS So ’ereat that its entire exclusive appropriation is not necessary, having regard for the general objects of the institution of property. In such cases as these, to prevent any man from using and appropriating to himself portions of the water without injuring the common right and enjoyment of others, would be contrary to natural law. WORKS OF THE HON. JAMES WILSON, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Vol, ILI, p. 194, Philadelphia. The right of separate property seems to be founded in the nature of men and things; and when societies become numerous, the establish- ment of that right is highly important to the existence, to the tranquil- lity, to the elegancies, to the refinements, and to some of the virtues of civilized life. Man is intended for action. Useful and skilful industry is the soul of an active life. But industry should have her just reward. That reward is property; for of useful and active industry, property is the natural result. Exclusive property multiplies the productions of the earth, and the means of subsistence. Who would cultivate the soil and sow the grain if he had no peculiar interest in the harvest? Who would rear and tend flocks and herds if they were to be taken from him by the first person who should come to demand them ? By exclusive property the productions of the earth and the means of subsistence are secured and preserved, as well as multiplied. What belongs to no one is wasted by every one. What belongs to one man in particular is the object of his economy and care. Exclusive property prevents disorder, and promotes peace. With- out its establishment the tranquillity of society would be perpetually 40 BS . 626 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. disturbed by fierce and ungovernable competitions for the possession and enjoyment of things, insufficient to satisfy all and by no rules of adjustment distributed to each. The conveniencies of life depend much on an exclusive property. The full effects of industry cannot be obtained without distinet profes- sions and the division of labour. But labour cannot be divided, nor san distinet professions be pursued, unless the productions of one pro- fession and of one kind of labor can be exchanged for those of another, This exchange implies a separate property in those who make it. The observations concerning the conveniences of life may be apphed with equal justness to its elegancies and its refinements. On property some of the virtues depend for their more free and enlarged exercise. Would the same room be lett for the benign indul- gence of generosity and beneficence,—would the same room be left for the becoming returns of esteem and gratitude,—would the same room be left for the endearing interchange of good offices in the various insti- tutions and relations of social life, if the goods of fortune lay in a mass, confused and unappropriated ? For these reasons, the establishment of exclusive property may justly be considered as essential to the interests of civilized society. With regard to land in particular, a separate and exclusive property in it is a principal source of attachment to the country in which one resides. A person becomes very unwilling to relinquish those well known fields of his own, which it has been the great object of his industry, and, per- haps of his pride, to cultivate and adorn. This attachment to private landed property has, in some parts of the globe, covered barren heaths and inhospitable mountains with fair cities and villages; while, in other parts, the most inviting climates aud soils remain destitute of inhabit- ants, because the rights of private property in land are not established or regarded. EV. PiRE TAPARELLI D’AZEGLIO, of the Society of Jesus. Hssai Théorique de Droit Naturel, basé sur les Faits. Translated from the Italian, with the approval of the author, 2d ed. vol. 1, sec. 411, p. 166. I remarked just now that the hypothesis of an original distribution is false, at least in the sense which is usually given to this expression, which seems to indicate that the ownership of immovable property owes its origin to a social contract. Now, we have just shown that this own- ership is a necessary consequence of the multiplication of the human race and of a law peculiar to human nature; under the sway of this law the right of property is formed of itself, aud that, too, quite natu- rally; and, to go back to its origin, we in no wise need have recourse to voluntary and free agreements. The successive development of the ownership of immovable property may be studied in Roman usage. (De opificio sex dierum, Book 5, chap. 7, section 17); suttice it for us to remark (and this experience renders evident,) that labor and cultiva- tion are necessary to cause the earth to bring forth fruit for the use of man. Build a hut, dig a well, plant a hedge around a piece of land: the soil will have received a durable amelioration, which is your act, and which gives you the right to prevent all others from appropriating it. Thus the right of ownership, the right to exclude all others from your property, is the outgrowth of itself without any agreement; it is the only rational way of explaining the original distribution of property, CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 627 that is to say, that first development of ownership, which is successively extended by occupation and by the clearing and cultivation of new land, which development is always proportionate to the numerical development of the human race. Von ADOLF LASSoN, System der Rechtsphilosophie. Berlin, 1882. Section 10 (page 603.)—The formation of property in land is very closely connected with the economic development of man. A condition of landed property, properly so called, in general, is the stationary character of men. As long as cattle-raising is mainly carried on, land will be held mainly in common, and may continue to be so held as long as agriculture is carried on by means of the simplest processes. When everything depends upon the care, prudence, industry, and the appli- ances for tilling the soil of each individual, the possession of land in common is opposed to common sense, and is impossible. Increasing density of population, improved methods of cultivation, development of free property in movable possessions, the use of money, trade and industry, compel property in land to assume, with more or less wi- formity, those forms of property which have become customary for movable possessions. There is historical progress everywhere, as a consequence, from collective to individual property, from public to private economy. Nevertheless, we must not overlook the fact that in individual matters, aud for special objects of property, the transition from private to public management may become necessary, and that there are objects which are, in general, necessary, or which may be better left to the ownership and management of the State and of the community. The formation of jurisprudence (Rechtsbildung) has, in this field, motives which are radically different, and lead to different results, for constantly reconciling what is just and what is expedient, what is conducive to private welfare and to the prosperity of the whole, the interest of personal liberty and economic interest. It is true that what is just and what is beneficial agree, as a general thing, here also. It is most desirable, in both points ‘of view, that every one should have an unrestricted right of property in that which he independently produces, that only that should be, in common property, the object of common management, which, according to regulation and established precept, may be worked without any great interference with individual selection and free enterprise; or that which (such as public roads, or property in mines and forests) cannot, in the interest of future generations, as well as of those now living, be unconditionally exposed to the influence of private discretion. That a person who does not manage the object himself should be its owner, is not to be avoided as an exception, but is pernicious when taken as arule. The apparent economic advantages of management in common: the systematization and organization of labor, in which the opposition of those forces which should co-operate with each other is avoided; the regulation of both production and con- sumption by a controlling will: all this, in the system of separate man- agement, is fully counterbalanced by the increased power of personal initiative, by the multiplied motives for labor, by the strong impulses for the development of all gifts and capacities of personality, by the more severe compulsion and “the greater interest in one’s own property, that a man has himself earned, himself possesses, himself enjoys, and that he may transfer to his family, and leave it to them at his death. That the right of property, even in immovable things, be endowed with very rich contents, that requires the idea of personality, which has, in 628 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. things, the means for their general development. Common property never has such rich contents; it is never free, full property, because the purposes for which it is used are fixed by the laws of common interest; therefore, according to the idea of right (law) only that is to be held as common property Ww vhich can not without danger, be entrusted to indi- viduals; it is consequently a minimum with limits that are removable according to the degree of improvement in cultivation and the develop- ment of personality. The tendency to diminish the extension of indi- vidual property and individual management as far as possible, in order to make all possible room for common property and common manage- ment, is in contravention of all right (law) and contributes toward making the institution of the penitentiary the normal institution for the whole machinery of human society. Ii. The ways in which property is earned, and the conditions on which proper ty is recognized, are defined by law for the most part in accordance with the principles of justice. The first principle is that each one is to keep what he has, until a sufficient reason for a change ‘an be shown. Thus all right of property is based upon the fiction of a primitive condition in w hich there is mere possession, which is after- wards endowed by law with protection and ideal power. The division or distribution of empirical possession, which is recognized as legal, and is converted into intelligible property, can be based, as an original fact, only upon the will of each individual or of the community, always only upon the will of him who has taken possession of the things according to his own good pleasure, who has occupied them. Occupation is thus the last basis and point of departure, that of possession which receives property-protection from law. This original occupation is conceived of as taking place in a condition in which no law prevails, such as in war, and after conquest by entire hordes and tribes. Ideally, a line is drawn. Beyond that line there is freedom of occupation, while on this side of it there is protection for every one in what he has occupied; beyond it there is violence and craft, while on this side of it there is respect for the rights of others. The commaunio primeva (primeval com- munity of goods) which is conceived of as existing in the imaginary condition, is nothing but this indefinite possibility of occupation by each one without regard to the rights of others, which as yet does not exist. Only when a legal condition of things begins to exist is the requirement made that all transfers of property shall take place ina legal manner, and that property shall be acquired and lost only in the ways thatare expressly prescribed by law, which aremade to conform, as fav aspossible, tojustice. The occupation, the mere appropriation ofthings at will, is thus greatly restricted. For most things have their owners, whose "rights are protected; but for that which as yet has no owner the State prescribes the conditions of an occupation that will be recog- nized by it. The State reasonably claims theownership of what has no owner, because no one has a better right than it has, and it leaves a conditional possibility to others on the ground of expediency only. The basis of property by occupation, since it clashes with no rights of others, is, in itself, easily understood. With property in the substance of the thing, property is also given in that which belongs as an append- age to the substance, in the fruit and in the increase, and in that which is connected with the substance. Ideally more pregnant and in the legal condition amore influential is, however, the second kind of acquisition of property, viz., specification. Any one who has formed a substance by his labor, and has thereby produced new property and new value, which also, as the fruit of the thing, may be the result of CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 629 the labor, is entitled to the ownership of this new value. The reason thereof lies chiefly in that which is common to specification and to occu- pation; it is evident thatno one has a right to the new vaiue, especially a better right than the producer. W hat is essential, however, is the positivity which specification has over and above occupation, the per- sonal merit which the producer has gained for himself by originating a new good, for which the property therein acquired is his just reward. It is to be carefully observed, however, that labor, as such, is not a basis of property; the norma juris (Rechtsordnung) alone can distribute property. When, however, a normajuris and the institution of property coexist, it is both right and expedient that a norma juris should give to labor the possibility of becoming the basis of the acquisition of property. Only, in order to distribute the reward aright, it is necessary accurately to find out the place where the merit is to be found. External percep- tible labor in physical matter has, in most cases, the least merit and the smallest part in the production of the new value; greatly prepon- derating is the meritin him who, by command and direction, by foresight and genius, by giving auxiliary means and by ingenuity, leads the forces of others to the goal, and assures the success of bodily exertion. COQUELIN ET GUILLAUMIN. Dictionnaire de Véconomie politique, vol. IV, p. 463 et seq., Paris, 1853. Ownership has shared in the general progress of civilization. At the same time it has followed a law of development which was peculiar. It has advanced like liberty, like industry and like the Arts in the world... Ownership exists among the pastoral people as well as among the nations which have come to the highest point of agricul- tural wealth and industry; but it exists in other conditions. The occupation of the soil began by being annual before it was for life, and it had been for life in the person of the tenant before becoming heredi- tary and in a way perpetual. It had belonged to the tribe before becoming the property of the family, and it had been the common possession of the family before taking on the individual character. The poets, who are the first historians, witness this gradual transfor- mation of inheritances. . Ownership, in undergoing evolutions analogous to those of liberty, spread out, and increased, and has, so to speak, pervaded space. At the beginning of civilization man possessed scarcely anything—some herds, some rude utensils, scarcely a corner of earth which produced grain in the midst of a deserted steppe. He brought into use almost none of the natural agents. The agricultural people who succeeded the pastoral tribes soon had tenfold and a hundredfold the possessions which then attached to the surface of the globe. But it belonged only to the skilful nations to carry industry and commerce to their, highest development. As the earth becomes individualized,and as each parcel falls into the possession of an owner who enriches it with his capital and labor, those who find themselves outside this division of the soil, are not on that account excluded from property. WILLIAM ROSCHER, Property. Principles of Political Economy. Trans- lated by J. J. LALOR from the 13th German Ed., Bk. L., Vol. I, ch. 1 sec. 33, p. 126. Chicago, 1882. Those gifts of external nature which may become objects of private property and at the same time possess sufficient relative scarcity to give them value in exchange are either movable and exhaustible in a 630 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. given place, or firmly connected with the land. The first category embraces, for instance, such wild animals and plants as serye some useful purpose. Minerals... And again, vol. I, Bk. I, ch. v, p. 235, sec. 77, he says: As human labour ean attain its full development only on the suppo- sition that personal freedom is allowed to develop to its full economic importance and dimensions. So capital can develop its full produc- tive power only on the supposition of the existence of the freedom of personal property. Who would save anything, that is, give up present enjoyment, if he were not certain of future enjoyment? The legiti- macy of private property has, since the time of Locke, been based by the greater number of political economists on the right inherent in every workman either to consume or to save the products of his labour. And again, Bk. I, ch. v, sec. 83, p. 253 et seq. Experience, however, teaches us that in all the lower stages of civili- zation a community of goods exists to a greater or lesser extent. The institution of private property has been more fully evolved out of this condition of things only in proportion as well-being and culture have been developed as cause and effect of such well-being. Thus, among most nations of hunters and fishermen, the idea of private property was unknown when these nations were first discovered. Page 263, vol. I, sec. 87. But a certain expenditure of capital and labour is necessary that land may be used productively, and in most instances this employment of capital and labour is of long duration, irrevocable in the very nature of things, and one the fruits of which can be reaped only after some time has elapsed. Now this cooperation of capital and labour is such, that no one would undertake to employ them in the cultivation of the land had he not the strongest assurance of possessing it. Hence agri- culture in its most rudimentary stage supposes ownership of the land, at least from the time that it is “tickled with the hoe” until ‘¢it smiles with the harvest”... the more, afterwards population and civilization increase, the more products must be wrung from the soil. But this can be accomplished only by means of its more intensive cultivation, by lavishing a greater amount of capital and labour on it, and as a rule by extending the cirele of agricultural operations by means of combi- nations more and more artificial. Hence the progress of civilization demands an ever increasing fixity and a more pronounced shaping of landed property. L. B. HAUTEFEUILLE, The Rights and Duties of neutral Nations in time of maritime War. Vol. I, p. 176, ed. 1848. When men had become more numerous, families developed into colo- nies and into tribes, new needs grew out of their industry and that tendency to well-being and improvement—distinctive characteristics of the Master of Nature. Thus the right of property expanded. It was applied at first to movable objects, such as weapons for the chase, utensils necessary for the preparation of foods, ete., which were no doubt the first objects subject to this right. The progress of the human race drew after it the development of the right of property; which from simple and indispensable utensils extended even over the soil itself. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 631 Although nothing is able to establish it, it is permitted to think that the necessity of constructing for oneself a shelter against the inclemency of the seasons, the discovery and progress of agriculture, were if not the only causes, at least the principal ones of the establishment of ownership in immovable property. In fact, the man who had placed his cabin upon a corner of earth of his choice, the cultivator who had fertilized a field by his labor, must have regarded this part of the earth as his own property, to prevent all others from entering and enjoying it. Such, in my eyes is the true origin of property. See. II. Characteristics essential to Property: Property, as respects the natural primitive right, for I do not occupy myself with civil institutions, ought to unite three essential charac- teristics: 1. Exclusive possession, and in consequence, the power to dispose according to his taste, to use, and even to abuse it; 2. The right of excluding all others from the enjoyment of the object possessed ; 3. The necessity of excluding them, in order to be able to enjoy the possession and to draw from it all the advantages which it promises. TouLuiER, French Civil Law. Fifth edition, Paris, 1842, vol. II, title II, ch. 1, see. 1, p. 40 to-47. SumMMARY.—Sece. 64. Origin of property; negative eommunity.—Sec. 65. Right of the first occupant which ceases with oceupation.—Sec. 66. Proof of the existence of negative community.—Sec. 67. A comparison by Cicero respecting this sub- ject. —See. 68. Occupation rendered more stable by agriculture.—See. 69. Whence results habitual occupation which preserves possession solely by extension.—Sec. 70. The field which ceased to be cultivated became vacant.—Sec. 71. Civil laws finally made property permanent.—Sec. 72. By means of real action against the possessor of the thing.—Sec. 73. Distinctive character of property in the civil state. Sec. 64. If the laws attached to property and those which are derived from it are now very extensive it was not thus originally. Property was confounded with possession and it was lost with it. Before foundation of the civil state, the earth was no one’s, the fruits belonged to the first occupant. The men that were distributed over the elobe lived in a state which the writers who have written on natu- ral law have termed negative community, in distinction from positive community in which several associates held in common ownership an indivisible thing belonging to each in a certain portion. Negative community, on the contrary, consisted in that the thing cominon to all did not belong more to each one of them in particular than to the other and in that no one could prevent another taking that which he considered proper to make use of in his needs. Thus this doctrinal expression of negative community signifies noth- ing else but the primitive and determinate right (droit) that all men had originally to make use of the goods which the earth offered, so long as no one had yet taken possession of them. Sec. 65, It is this which is termed the right of the first occupant. He who first possesses himself of a thing acquires over it a kind of transient ownership, or, to speak more exactly, a right of preference which others should respect. They should leave that thing to him while he possesses it; but after he had ceased to make use of it or to occupy it, another in ‘his turn might make use of it or occupy it. If the older possessor had invoked his past possession as a right of preference still existing, the younger could be able to answer by his present possession; and when, furthermore, rights are equal on both 632 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. sides, it it just and natural that the actual possessor should be pre- ferred, for to take possession away from him there should be a stronger right than his own. Thus the right of occupation is a title of legitimate preference founded on nature. Sec. 66, The existence of this primitive state of negative community is incontestable; proofs of the same are found in Genesis, the most ancient of all books, and the most venerable even when considering it only from an historical point of view!. The poets, in picturing the golden age, have left us ornamented but inaccurate works. The ancient historians have transmitted to us tradition; and, finally, examples thereof were found again in the habits of the sav: ge tribes of America when that continent was discovered. Sec. 67. Thus, following a comparison of Cicero, the world was like a vast theatre belonging to the public, of which each seat became the property ef the first ocenpant as long as it suited him to remain therein, but which he could not prevent another from occupying after he had left it. Sec. 68. But how could this preference, acquired by occupation, have become a stable and permanent ownership, that would continue to subsist and could be reclaimed after the first occupant had ceased to be in possession? ft was agriculture that gave birth to the idea of and made felt the necessity for permanent property. In measure as the nuinber of men increased, it became more difficult to find new uninhabited lands; and on the other hand continued habitation of the same place engendered a too rapid consumption of the natural fruits of the earth for them to suffice for the subsistence of all the inhabitants and of their flocks, without changing locality or without providing therefor by cultivation in a constant and regular manner. Thus agriculture was the natural result of the inerease of the human species; agriculture in turn favored population, and rendered necessary the establishment of permanent property. For who would give himself the trouble to labor and to sow if he had not the certainty of reaping? The field th: at L have cleared and sown should beiong to me, at least until I have gathered the fruits that my labor has produced, IT have the right to oar force to repulse the unjust person who would wish to dispossess me of it, and to drive away him who should have seized it during my absence. Iam regarded as continuing to occupy the field from the first tilth to the harvest, though, in the interval, | do not perform each moment exterior acts of occupation or of possession, because one cannot suppose that I have cleared, cultivated and sown without intention to reap. Sec. 69. This habitual oceupation, which results from cultivation, pre- serves therefore the right of preference which I had acquired by first occupation, It is this habitual occupation which civil law (le Droit Civil) extended and applied as a means to preserve possession, in estab- lishing as maxim that possession is preserved by sole intention, nudo animo, Cultivation forms a stronger and more lasting tie than single occu- pation; it gives a perfect right to the harvest. But how maintain a right (Droit) other than by doubtful contest, before the foundation of the civil state? Sec. 70. Moreover the right which cultivation gives and the effects of occupation which are derived therefrom, cease with the harvest, if nGendais Ik 28 nel 29, CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 633 there are no new acts of cultivation; for nothing would further indi- cate an intention to occupy. The field which would cease to be culti- vated would again become vacant and subject to the right of the first occupant. Agriculture alone, therefore, is not sufficient to establish permanent property; and since as before the invention and the usage of agricul- ture, property was acquired by occupation, was preserved by continued or habitual possession, and was lost with possession (et se perdait avec la possession), this principle is still followed in regard to things which have remained in the primitive state or negative community, such as savage animals. Sec. 74. In order to give to property a nature of stability which we observe in it today, positive laws and magistrates to execute them were necessary, in other words, the civil state was required, The increase of the human species had rendered agriculture necessary ; the need to assure to the cultivator the fruits of his labor made felt the necessity of permanent property and of laws to protect it. Thus, it is to property that we owe the foundation of the civil state. Without the tie of property it would never have been possible to subject man to the salutary yoke of the law; and without permanent property the earth would have continued to remain a vast forest. Let us say, therefore, with the most exact writers, that if transient ownership (ia propricté passagere), or the right of preference which occu- pation gives, is anterior to the foundation of civil society, permanent ownership (propricté permanente) as we know it today is the work of civil law. It is civil law which has established as a maxim that once acquired property is never lost without the act of the owner, and that it is pre- served even after the owner has lost possession or detention of the thing, and when it is in the hands of a third party. Thus property and possession, which in the primitive state were con- founded, became by the civil law two distinct and independent things; two things which, according to the language of the laws, have dosiins in common between them. Property is aright, a legal attribute (faculté ); possession is a fact. It is seen by this what prodigious changes have been wrought in property, and how much civil laws have changed its nature. Sec. 72. This change was effected by means of areal action that the laws eranted against - the possessor whoever he might be, to compel him to surrender the thing to the owner who had lost possession thereof. This action was gr anted to the owner not alone against the possessor by bad faith, but also against the possessor by good faith, to whom the thing had come without fraud or without violence, without his being cognizant of the owner’s rights, and even though he had acquired it from a third party by virtue of a legal title. See. 73. Property was, therefore, considered a moral quality inherent in the thing, as a real tie which binds it to the owner, and which can- not be severed without an act of his. This right of reclaiming a thing in whatever hands it is found, is that which forms the principal and distinctiv e characteristic of property in the civil state. ; AHRENS, Cours de droit naturel, p. 297. Bruxelles, Meline et C*, 1844, As in modern times work and industry have received greater appre- ciation, respect and protection, several authors have abandoned the ancient doctrine of occupation and have sought the basis and origin of 634 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. property in labor, whereby the industry which an individual may have devoted to any object, and by which he has, as it were, impressed upon it the seal of his personality and transformed it and made it serve his wants. This doctrine, which has also been called that of the appropriation of things by labor, is without doubt more reasonable than that of ocecu- pation. It releases the question of property from gratuitous hypoth- eses, from useless fictions of a primitive natural state and a subsequent agreement. Instead of making the creation of property depend upon a chance decision, it bases it, on the contrary, upon a stable tact upon which it rests always and everywhere, that is, the activity of man. Nevertheless, this doctrine does not yet present the real reason for the existence of property. (The next few pages limit the proposition, but do not contradict it.) EMILE DE LAVELEYE, Of property and its Primitive forms. Chap. XXVI, p. 381. Paris, 1877. ..... Another very general error is also that “ property” is spoken of as if it were an institution having a fixed form and being always the same, while in reality it is clothed in most diverse forms, and is susceptible to very great unforeseen modifications. PUFFENDORPE, The Law of Nature and Nations, vol. UL, Bk. LV, ch. Vv. sect. 6, and sec. 7, p. 368, ed. 1729. (English Trans.) To proceed, man left this original negative communion, and by cove nant settled distinct properties, not at the same time and by one single act, but by successive degrees; according as either the condition of things or the number and genius of men seemed to require. Thus, the Secythians ef old appropriated only their cattle and the furniture of their houses, leaving their land in its primitive communion. Indeed, the peace and tranquillity of mankind, for which the law of nature appears especially concerned, gave no obscure intimation what would be inost convenient for men to appoint in this affair. For that each man should retain an equal power over all things, or that the universal provision should be laid in common ready. for the promiscuous use of every person was not consistent with the safety and quiet of human race; especially after they were multiplied into consider- able numbers, and had cultivated and improved the method of living; because there could not but arise almost infinite clashings from the desire of many persons to the same thing, which was not able to satisfy them all at once; it being the nature of the greater part of what the world affords to be incapable of serving more than one man at the same time, As for the precise orderand the particular course of things passing into prop- erty, I conceive we may thus come to an apprehension of them. Most things of immediate use to men, and which are applied to the ends of nourishinent and clothing, are not by bare unassisted Nature produced everywhere in so great abundance as to yield a plentiful supply to all. As often, therefore, as two or more should want the same thing, which could not content them altogether, and should endeavor to seize and secure it for themselves, so often there must arise a most probable occa- sion of quarrels and hostilities. Again, many things stand in need of human labour and culture, either for their production or to fit and pre- pare them for use. But here it was very inconvenient that a person who had taken no pains about a thing should have an equal right to it with another by whose industry it was either first raised or exactly wrought CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 635 and framed, to render it of further service. It was highly conducive, then, to the common peace that immediately upon the multiplication of mankind, property should be appointed in movable things, especially such as require the labour and improvement of men, and in those i immMov- ables which are of immediate and necessary use, as houses for instance; so that the substance of them should belong either separately to par- ticular persons, or to such a number of men as had by peculiar covenant agreed to hold them in the way of positive communion. Further, although there appears some reason in these things why they should rather belong to some than to others, yet the Dominion or Property of them, such as implies the exclusion of all persons beside, was to be confirmed, at least by tacit compact..... VII. That the settling distinct properties turned to the real benefit and advantage of men, when grown more numerous, may be illustrated from the same arguments which Aristotle brings to overthrow the Platonic communion of goods. * * * Upon the introduction of property every one grows more industrious in improving his peculiar portion, and matter and occasion is supplied for the exercise of liber- ality and beneficence towards others. PRADIER-FODERE, Traité de Droit international public, vol. IV. Paris, 1888. Pt. Second, Title, I. Ch. 111. Paris, 1889, p. 22. There is no need of insisting very much to prove that commerce is a necessity of the social state; that it is the result of obligations arising from fellowship. It has been for a long time a commonplace that the end of the human being is to live, not alone, but with his kind, in order to develop his intelligence, to extend his ideas, and to provide for his physical needs in giving his labor in exchange for what he lacks; that men cannot live without the reciprocity of their services more than without the means of satisfying their needs; that rich or poor, powerful or feeble, they wre all more or less dependent upon one another; that itis a duty for social man to do everything which can contribute to ‘assist and to extend fellowship, which is his end and his natural state. Now commerce being the principal means by which men can communicate with each other in fellowship, and transmit things necessary or agree- able to life, the philosophers deduce therefrom that it is the consequence of a natural obligation. But this obligation they do not consider as perfect,—that is to say, as accompanied with the right to constrain; for outside of every formal stipulation one cannot force anyone to sell what he has, or to buy what he has not. Twiss, Law of Nations, vol. I, sec. 144, p. 231. New Edition, 1884. Sec. 144. The Roman Jurists regarded certain things as incapable by nature of being appropriated. “ Ht quidem naturali Jure communia sunt omnium hie, aer, aqua profluens, et mare, et per hoc littora maris'.” It is obvious that the air, running water, and the sea, are not suscep- tible of detention, and consequently cannot be physically reduced into possession, so as to give rise to that permanent relation, which is implied in the juridical notion of property. ‘Again Nature does not give to man a right of appropriating to himself things which may be innocently used, and which are inexhaustible and sufficient for all. For since those things, while common to all, are sufficient to supply the 1 Just. Inst. L. I. Tit. I. Sec. 1. 636 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. wants of each, whoever should, to the exclusion of all other partici- pants, attempt to render himself sole proprietor of them, would unrea- sonably seek to wrest the bounteous gifts of Nature from the parties excluded!. There is accordingly no warrant of Natural Law for an absolute Right of Property in the running water of rivers (aqua per- ennis) any more than in the tidal water of the sea. But if the free and common use of a thing of this nature (namely, which 1s of itself inex- haustible) be prejudicial or dangerous to a nation, the care of its own safety will entitle it so far, and so far only, to control the use of it by others, as to secure that no prejudice or danger result to itself from their use of it. A nation may accordingly have a Right of Empire over things which are, nevertheless, by nature communis usis, and over which it cannot acquire an absolute Right of Property; as, for instance, over portions of the high seas, or over rivers which form the boundary of its territory. The limits within which the safety of.a nation war- rants such an exercise of empire will be considered hereafter. REDDIE: Inquiries into International Law. Pt. I. ch. V., sub see. IL, Art. 2, p. 207. 2d ed., 1851. But the chief source of the intercourse of nations, in their individual capacity, is the exchange of commodities, of natural or artificial pro- duction. The territory of one state very rarely produces all that is requisite for the supply of the wants for the use and enjoyment of its inhabitants. To a certain extent, one state generally abounds in what others want. A mutual exchange of superfluous commodities is thus reciprocally advantageous for both nations, And, as it 1s a mor al duty in individuals to promote the welfare of their neighbour, it appears to be also the moral duty of a nation not to refuse commerce with other nations, when that commerce is not hurtful to itself. VATTEL, 7th Amer., Bk. II, ch. I, sec. 21, p. 142, ed. 1849. See. 21. All men ought to find on earth the things they stand in need of. In the primitive state of communion, they took them wherever they happened to meet with them, if another had not before appro- priated them to his own use. The introduction of dominion and prop- erty could not deprive men of so essential aright; and, consequently, it cannot take place without leaving them, in general, Some means of pro- curing what is useful or necessary to them. This means is commerce; by it every man may still supply his wants. Things being now become property, there is no obtaining them without the owner’s consent, nor are they usually to be had for nothing; but they may be bought, or exchanged for other things of equal value. Men are, ther efore, under an obligation to carry on that commerce with each other, if they wish not to deviate from the views of nature; and this obligation extends also to whole nations or states. It is seldom that nature is seen in one place to produce everything necessary for the use of man; one country abounds in corn, another in pastures and cattle, a third in timber and metals, Xe. If all those countries trade together, as is agreeable to human nature, no one of them will be without such things as are use- ful and necessary; and the views of nature, our common mother, will be fulfilled, Further, one country is fitter for some kind of products than for another, as, for instance, fitter for the vine than for tillage. If trade and barter take place, every nation, on the certainty of procuring what it wants, will employ its lands and its industry in the most advantage- !Vattel, L. I. Sec, 280. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 637 ous manner, and mankind in general prove gainers byit. Such are the foundations of the general obligations incumbent on nations recipro- ‘ally to cultivate commerce. P. PRADIER-FopERE, Traité de Droit international public européen et américain, suivant les progres de la science et de la pratique contem- poraines, vol. II, sec. 598, p. 131 et seq. Paris, 1885. It is sufficient to consider the conditions of existence in human soci- ety in order to convince oneself that the right of property is the key- stone of the social edifice. Economists point out to us the idea of property or ownership, connected with the idea of wealth created by man applying his faculties to the production of those things which are calculated to meet the wants that are inherent in his nature, and that are not found in profusion, as air, light and water are. Philosophers teach us that the source of the right of property lies in that individual interest which takes care of the preservation of the individual and of his family, and which, maintained by respect for the interest of others, is the universal motor of mankind, and, by its multiplicity, forms the general or common interest, without excluding duty and sympathy, or the sentiment of humanity, which are also, to a certain extent, social bonds among men, and springs of action for them; hence the feeling and the need of property (ownership) are inherent in the nature of every human being. Historians remind us that men, by nature, live in fam- ilies, or in collective or social groups, and that property is found, orig- inally, among all tribes, de facto at first, and soon as an idea, more or less clear perhaps, but always invariably fixed. We everywhere see man appropriate all that he needs and what he produces, at first his bow and arrows, next his hut, and still later his house, his garden, his land, after he has abandoned a nomadic mode ot life and become an agriculturist. As man becomes developed, he becomes more attached to what he possesses, and experiences greater need of security in the possession of what belongs to him. It is for the purpose of obtaining this security, as well as for that of satisfying his essentially social instincts, as Aristotle said, that he unites with his fellow-beings to form with them, obeying the impulse of special vocations and the determination of determinate circumstances, associations more or less considerable, communities and states. These men, being thus united and grouped, place, of their own accord, a portion of their incomes in the common fund, and accept, or institute, or submit to from the authorities, powers and governments, from which they expect a guaranty of the ownership of the fruits of their labor, to which they give the force necessary to curb those pas- sions which are inspired by cupidity and a desire for control, and the means of maintaining this force, together with the executive pow- ers, the magistracies and other institutions required by their duties. Joseph Garnier, the economist, has drawn a graphic picture of social activity. “The necessity”, says he, “to procure food and raiment, shelter, and the means of satisfying the other needs of life, gives rise to the cultivation of fields and to the working of mines and quarries, which occupies a portion of the population, while another portion cul- tivates the soil, and exchanges its labor and services with the first. It is aided in this exchange by a third portion of the population, which serves aS an intermediary, busying itself, more particularly, with the conveyance, by means of transportation and exchange, of the agricul- tural productions and manufactured articles from the places of pro- duction to the hands of the consumers. Another large class of workers 638 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. engage in scientific pursuits, in teaching, literature, in governmental funetions (judicial, military or administrative), in the healing art, in traveling, in the fine arts, etc., and render more or less indirectly, or with the aid of intermediaries, their services to agricultural produc- tions or manufactured articles, which consist, to a great extent, of alimentary substances. What animates everybody, what stimulates the agriculturist, the extractor, the manufacturer, the merchant, the artist, the scientist, the contractor or the workman, is need, interest, liberty of action”. (Joseph GARNIER, Traiidé, Wéconomie politique, édition de 1873, Partie I1, no. 70, p. 50.) THEO. D. WooLsEy, Political Science, vol. I, pp. 69-70. New-York, 1878, 2. How can the individual acquire property in material which is not his by expending labor upon it?) Who gave him the right to take a por- tion of matter which is not his own, and cannot be his own because it is not the product of his labor? Or, if he is addicted to pastoral life, what right has he to appropriate sheep or cows at the first, or to claim any right in his flocks which have multiplied by the use of the soul and by a natural propagation which is not even the result of his direct labor? Will it be said that human beings must live, and in order that they may live must have control over the earth, over animals, and natural agents? Very true; but this necessity depends on a nature and destination of human beings which is the source of the right of labour as well as of other rights. 3. But in matter of fact, for all the higher uses of labor, for agricul- ture, for buildings, for ways of intercourse, the earth itself is material and is prepared for use like any other product. Land is cleared, fenced, broken up; seed is sown, crops are gathered; when the returns diminish, manures are saved and applied, houses are put up for the men and perhaps for the cattle. If the highest improvement and greatest multiplication of the human race depends on this kind of life, which makes all division of labour, and all city-life possible, here we have the destination of man, his highest culture pointing to a recognition of aright to do such things and to be sure of permanence in occupation, as well as of a right of transfer if the owner desires. Hrenry AHRENS, Course of Natural Law. Vol. II, Bk. I. Div. I. Sec. 2. Title 1, ch. U1. Leipsig, 1875. Sect. 64.—General Principles that Regulate the Right of Property in the interest of Society. The definitions of the right (droit) of property given by positive laws generally concede to the owner the power to dispose of his object in an almost absolute manner, to use and abuse it, and even through saprice to destroy it!; but this arbitrary power is not in keeping with natural law, and positive legislation obedient to the voice of common sense, and reason, in the interest of society, has been obliged itself to establish numerous restrictions, which examined from a philosophic 'Roman law gave the owner the jus utendi et abulendi: after the Austrian Code (11, 2, Sec. 362), he has the power (faculté) to destroy arbitrarily that which belongs tohim. The Code Napoléon, which detines property as ‘‘the right to enjoy and to dispose ot things in the most absolute manner, provided no usage be made of them forbidden by the laws or by the regulations”, interposed social interest by this restriction. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 639 view of law, are the result of rational principles to which the right of property and its exercise is subjected. The principles which govern socially the right (droit) of property relate to substance and to form. As to substance, the following rules may be established : I. Property exists for a rational purpose and for a rational usage ; it is destined to satisfy the various needs of human life ; consequently, all abuse, all arbitrary destruction, are contrary to right (droit) and should be prohibited by law (loi). But to avoid giving a false exten- sion to this principle it is important to recall to mind that, according to personal rights, that which is committed within the sphere of pri- vate life and of that of the family, does not come under the applica- tion of public law. It is necessary, therefore, that the abuse be public in order that the law may reach it. It belongs to the legislation regu- lating the various kinds of agricultural, industrial, and commercial property, as well as to penal legislation, to determine the abuses which it is important to protect ; and, in reality, legislation as well as police laws (orders,) have always specified a certain number of cases of abuses', Besides all abusive usage is hurtful to society, because it is for the public interest that the object should give the owner the advan- tages of the services of which it admits.’ VATTEL, Law of nations, chap. XIII, secs. 281, 282, p. 125. Sec. 281. It is manifest that the use of the open sea, which consists in navigation and fishing, is innocent and inerhaustible; that is to say— he who navigates or fishes in the open sea does no injury to any one, and the sea in these two respects is sufficient for all mankind. Now nature does not give to man a right of appropriating to himself things that may be innocently used, and that are inexhaustible and sufficient for all. Tor, since those things, while common to all, are sufficient to supply the wants of each, whoever should, to the exclusion of all other participants, attempt to render himself sole proprietor of them, would unreasonably wrest the bounteous gifts of nature from the parties excluded. ‘The earth no longer furnishing, without culture, the things necessary or useful to the human race, who were extremely multiplied, it became necessary to introduce the right of property, in order that each might apply himself with more success to the cultivation of what had fallen to his share, and multiply, by his labor, the necessaries and conveniences of life. It is for this reason the law of nature approves the rights of dominion and property, which put an end to the primitive manner of living in common. But this reason cannot apply to things which are in themselves inexhaustible; and, consequently, it cannot furnish any just grounds for seizing the exclusive possession of them. If the free and common use of a thing of this nature was prejudicial or dangerous to a nation, the care of their own safety would authorize ‘On the occasion of the debate of Art. 544, which defined property, Napoleon expressed energetically, the necessity of suppressing abuses. ‘‘ The abuse of prop- erty”, said he, ‘should be suppressed every time it becomes hurtful to society. Thus, it is not allowed to cut down unripe grain, to pull up famous grape-vines. I would uot suffer that an individual should smite with sterility twenty leagues of ground in a grain-bearing department in order to make for himself a park thereof. The right of abuse does not extend so far as to deprive a people of its sustenance.” * Roman law says in this sense, Sec. 2, I, de patr. pot. 1, 8: Expedit enim reipublice ne sua re quis male ulatur, Leibnitz further expands this principle of the Roman law by saying, (De notionibus juris, ete.) : ‘* Cumnos nostraque Deo debeamus, ut reipub- lice, ita multo magis universi interest, ne quis re sua male utatur. G40 CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. them to reduce that thing under their own dominion, if possible, in order to restrict the use of it, by such precautions as prudence might dictate to them. Fion&. Nouveau droit international public, traduit par PRADIER- FoDERS, vol. I, ch. 11, p. 376, éd. 1868. Now that we have determined the objects over which one can exercise the right of international ownership, it is necessary to establish the means S by which we can acquire the ownership of them. It is certain that the right of ownership exists independently of all actual posses- sion, but the effective ownership presupposes a detention and an actual occupation of the thing which forms the object thereof. This is why it is defined as the right of possessing a thing exclusively and of dispos. ing of it. In order that a thing may pass ‘into the domain of an indi- vidual, whether it be physical or moral matters not, two conditions are required; that the object should be capable of being attributed to the exclusive use of one individual, and that it should pass into his posses- sion for his exclusive use. When the individual occupies the thing, and engraves upon it by his labour the seal of his personality, the thing remains bound to the person, so that between the individual and the thing an indestructible legal bond is formed. HENRY AHRENS, Cowrse of natural Law, or of the philosophy of lav, vol. I, title 2, par. 67, p. 171-176. Leipzig, 1875. Ed. 7 In the first period of mankind, governed more by instinct than by the light of conscience, the two constitutive elements of property were not yet distinguished from each other: instinct moved men to seek in com- mon the necessary means to satisfy their first needs. But as men, at that pericd, in the feeling of their weakness and their dependence, were more strongly subject to the influences of the superior forces of nature, of Gop, and of social order, they must also have traced back to a higher source all that which the earth produces to satisfy their wants. “The goods of the earth, therefore, were looked upon as a gift from Gop to all for common e njoyment. The idea of individual property could not suggest itself to the mind so long as spontaneity (spontaniété) of action, awi ikened by labor, was too feeble to engender the feeling of personal individuality. Indivisible community of property in the various fam- ily and tribal groups, ete., founded upon a religious thought, should have been the law (loti) of this first period of the world, the existence of which has been testified to by the principles of philosophy and by the traees which are found in the most ancient documents of history. But by degrees, as spontaneity acquired more energy, that individual (personnel) labor became more intense, general (¢ ommion) ties began to shrink; each one commenced to separate from the whole and to ‘direct his sight and his sentiments on the parts which lay nearest him; he allied himself more intimately with the family or the tribe in the midst of which he lived; thus his relations gained in intensity what they lost in extensiveness. Then the epoch dawned when opposition between the whole and the portions of a people, and even of peoples among one another, became more and more pronounced, and revealed in a succes- sion of various periods the struggle of the different social and national elements. This protracted and painful epoch of history presents great strides in the development of property. Men, emerging from their first period and still imbued with the views and the sentiments which had predominated therein, had first to gradually make a distinction between CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 641 the property of the family or of the tribe, and the ground or earth which Gop had given to all. The division of the common earth began, less in regard to property (propriété) than in regard to usage, enjoyment or usufruct. These ideas were to be modified in nomadic, pastoral and agricultural life to which men devoted themselves. The notions of usage and of enjoyment were transformed into the most settled idea of property, when families and tribes began fastening to the soil after relinquishing nomadic life, and claiming from the earth by agricultural labor the means of livelihood which until then they had found on its surface. But albeit the idea of property developed itself naturally through the labor of appropriation of the earth, the thought of indi- vidual property was to remain still along time foreign to the mind. Each one considered himself, first of all, as a member of a family or of a tribe, and, as labor was performed in common, the products were also distributed by family or by tribe. It is, hence, an error to believe that property should have begun by individual occupation or by personal labor. The institution of property, like that of society, was not created by individual aggregation, atomistically, but by the constitution of collective property in the heart of the collective being, superior of the family, of the gent or of the tribe. This period of family property and of collective property of the tribe has been met with among all nations and has endured centuries. But a final step remained to be effected in the trend of appropriation. The individual was to conclude by attributing to himself a right to the earth, at first still conceding collective property, the sovereign right of concession and recovery to “the family, to the tribe, and to ‘the nation of which he formed a part, but continually limiting the rights of this superior authority, and more and more securing for himself exclusive rights over that portion of which he had taken possession. When the individual principle of property thus had taken root in society, the social principle seemed destined to disappear forever. But at the very moment when the ancient world fell to pieces, where egotism hac per- vaded everything, the social element was consecrated anew by becoming inspired from a loftier source, which was to give to individuality itself its true principle. Christianity reéstablished the religious and social principle of property, at first by numerous examples of community of goods; and afterwards by allying itself to the Germanic spirit by a greater organization of properties, which were given an hierarchical basis (hiérarchisées entre elles). This organization, however, subord.- nating and claiming human personality to properties, was to be over- thrown when the principle of personality reconsecrated by philosophy and religicus reform, found especially through the support of Roman law its application to the institution of property, where it in turn was pushed to extreme deductions. Massk. Le Droit Commercial, tit. I, liv. 1V, ch. 1, par. 1394, 3rd ed. There is this difference between possession and ownership: that the possession presupposes a detention or an actual occupation of the thing which is the object, while ownership exists independently of all actual possession. It presupposes only that in this sense the things which cannot be detained or occupied are not susceptible of ownership. All ownership comes from work, to assist in which man has occupied and detained the things susceptible of occupation and detention, and has appropriated them to himself. Ownership as well as work is of the natural law. The civil law guar- antees and protects the ownership, but it does not create. 41 BS 642. CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 1395. I have just now said that the things which are not susceptible of possession or of occupation, that is to say, are not susceptible of a primitive law, are not susceptible of ownership. They are the property of no one, or rather, they are the property of all. These things are what the law writers call “res communes”, Such are the air, the water which runs in the rivers, the sea, and the sea coasts. ‘ Naturali jure omnium communia sunt haec: aer, aqua profluens, et mare, et per hoc, littora maris.” PRADIER-FopERE, Principes généraux de Droit, de Politique et de Légis- lation, p. 138. Paris, 1869. Objects of property (ownership.)—W hat may the objects of property be? We appropriate to our own use what we have produced and what we have saved, the soil that we have occupied, and the industrial faculties that we have acquired. These various appropriations constitute sev- eral kinds of property; property in labor, property in capital, landed property and personal property. The sources of these properties are labor, economy, and occupation. As to the industrial faculties, they are either gifts of nature, such as bodily strength, intelligence and natu- ral talent, or they are the fruits of our own care and painstaking, such as instruction and acquired talents. The acquisition of property.—These different kinds of property are all entitled to the respect of man; some of them are sacred. How can we refuse to him who has made efforts to produce, the ownership of the result of those efforts? The production which leaves his hands repre- sents the sacrifice of his time, of his labor, of his health, nay, of his lite. The man has saved; he has imposed upon himself privation of enjoyment, and when he might have rested he has continued his hard labors; how can he be deprived of the ownership of the result of this sacrifice? He has applied his physical and moral powers, with his cap- ital, to the clearing of land that belonged to nobody; he has improved that land, has erected a dwelling, and has taken possession. Is it not just that such taking of possession should be protected by the provi- sions of the law? The source of his right is called occupation; he is the first occupant. BEAUSSIRE, Freedom in the Intellectual and Moral World. Pt. I, ch. vii. Labor is not a creation but a transformation. It needs must borrow of Nature the materials and the instruments. Man devoted to labor by his terrestrial destiny has, therefore, the right to possess himself of all resources that nature furnishes him. He has the right to fertilize the earth, to utilize its products, to subdue even the animals, and make in one way or another decile laborers of them. Beings deprived of reason do not belong to themselves; they cannot dispose of themselves; they follow blindly the laws that are laid down for them; they belong to the intelectual and moral being, who alone, through his labor, can modify, improve, and utilizethem. The primitive occupation of the soil and its fruits, either by any individual, any family, any tribe or any association whatsoever is, therefore, perfectly legitimate. “It is a conquest,” says Leibnitz, ‘over our natural enemy, the physical world. Between per- son and person the right of peace exists so long as one of them has not commenced war or caused a damage, between a person and a thing the right of war is perpetual. The lion is permitted to devour a man, the mountain to erush him, and man is permitted to subdue the Lon and pierce the mountain. Victory of the person over the thing, and cap- ° tivity of the thing, constitute possession; and, by right of war, posses- : CITATIONS FROM WRITINGS OF JURISTS AND ECONOMISTS. 643 sion grants to the person a right over the thing, provided the thing belongs to no one.! Page 396. There is a first class of duties which seems to justify the right of prop- erty: these are our duties to ourselves. They impose upon us, in fact, with the care of our life, the obligation of foresight. It is the condition of the savage, as well of the animal, not to be able to use for food more than the fruits that hang on the trees, the plants which the soil pro- duces without cultivation, the animals which the chase or which a happy hazard casts in the way. From our first step into civilized life we do not fulfil our duty as men unless we seek, by intelligent and sustained labor, to overcome nature and to apply all its forces to the service of our needs, present and future. By this we free ourselves from the sub- jection of the physical world and the dependence of our equals; we enter fully upon possession of our moral freedom. But on what condi- tion? That our equals as individuals or in society shall not have the right to wrest from us the things which we have appropriated by this preserving labor, that we may rely on permanent possession. Work founds proprietorship, not because it is a free use of our faculties, but because it is a duty. COURCELLE-SENEUIL, Theoretical and Practical Treatise of Political Heonomy. Vol. I, liv. II, ch. v, p. 292, 2nd ed. Paris, 1867. The desire, the temptation, to consume is a permanent force; its action can only be suspended by controlling it through another force, which also is always lasting. It is clear that each one would consume the greatest possible amount (le plus possible) if it were not for his interest to abstain from consuming. He would cease to abstain as soon as he would cease to have his interest, which should endure without interruption in order that capital should always be preserved. This is why we say that interest is the remuneration of this labor of saving and preserving, which is a necessary condition of industrial life, because without it capital in whatever form it might be could not be lasting. Page 35. Three attributes distinguish the objects comprised under the generic name of wealth; they are suited to satisfy human wants, that is to say, useful, material, and appropriate. Wealth considered from the standpoint of its origin is natural or artificial. The first is that which nature directly offers to man, and which without previous labor he can appropriate to satisfy his needs; such are the spontaneous fruits of the earth, the earth itself, and mat- ter in general in its primitive forms. The second is that of which its utility is the result of human labor in some sort; and moreover, the objects entitled wealth are not to take this name except they unite the three characteristics indicated above. Tt is not necessary still to insist on utility; all the world agrees that that which is desired by no one cannot be comprised among wealth .... whether considering the earth or the sea; as soon as appropriation and enjoyment of utility commences, there is wealth; as soon as utility or appropriation ceases wealth disappears. 'Nova methodus discendw docendeque jurisprudentie. Duteus, III, p. 213. oO ‘ - i Von : er ce : a, ey a ; er es - | f ae ay s Gu 4 al 4 a uae Cue 7 7 Pi, a 5 ihe i bh? 4a 7 : ible i! bay i 7 7 A as . : m2 { : h if the es ax ho 8 Jog." Si _ ‘ WY 4: = eee ee nu "ile a ae bie i) - es 7 : os — ; i 7 2} 7 7 - Pah - w » : aw . as or ? - _ - | v ri & a ou a : - 7 ’ : é ¥ Cu weet fone. SS wee. Soars res} t a, ff Nee, f yi “4 WAY i; Pee