18 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



Stejneger, curator of reptiles, United States National Museum; Mr. Frederic A. 

 Lucas, curator of comparative anatomy, United States National Museum, and 

 Mr. Charles II. Townsend, naturalist of the Albatross. Mr. George Archibald Chirk, 

 president's secretary of Stanford University, was appointed secretary to the commis- 

 sion, and Col. Joseph Murray, of Fort Collins, Colo., formerly United States Treasury 

 agent at St. Paul Island, and reappointed in 1897 to the same position, was math- 

 sped al assistant. 



Great Britain named as her commission of investigation Prof. D'Arcy Weutworth 

 Thompson, of University College, Dundee, Scotland; Mr. Gerald E. H. Barrett- 

 Hamilton, of Dublin, Ireland, and Mr. James Melville Macoun, of the Geological 

 Survey of Canada. The Canadian government detailed Mr. Andrew Halkett to 

 make special investigation of the operations of the pelagic fleet. 



THE SCOPE OF THE WORK. 



In his letter of instructions to the commission, under date of .Inne i:i, 1SJMJ, lion. 

 Charles Sumner Hamlin, then Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, outlined the 

 general scope and purpose of the investigation, as follows: 



Your final report will be expected to relate more specifically to the group of seals which resort 

 to the Pribilof Islands, but the Asiatic herd may be investigated to such extent as seems advi>a lilt- 

 in order to afford the opportunity for instituting comparisons from which important deductions may 

 be reached. 



The principal object of this investigation is to determine by precise and detailed observations. 

 first, the present condition of the American fur-seal herd; second, the nature and imminence of the 

 causes, if any, which appear to threaten its extermination; third, what, if any, benefits have been 

 secured to the herd through the operation of the act of Congress and act of Parliament based upon 

 the award by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration; fourth, what, if any, additional protective measures 

 on laud or at sea, or changes in the present system of regulations as to the closed season, prohibited 

 zone, prohibition of firearms, etc., are required to insure the preservation of the fur-seal herd. 



Your inquiries should furthermore be extended, in so far as the time and circumstances permit , 

 to embrace the consideration of all important questions relating to the natural history *>t' tho seals, 

 both at sea and on the islands, with special reference to their bearing upon the sealing industry. 



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

 questions: 



1. The effect of pelagic sealing in the North Pacific Ocean and Hering Sea upon the fur-seal 

 herd, due account being taken of the classes of seals killed. 



2. What effect, if any, has the annual removal of bachelor seals, which has taken place on the 

 Pribilof Islands, had upon the fur-seal herd? 



The solution of these two questions involves a study of the entire subject of the regulations <>{ 

 the two sexes and the proportion of the male seals required to be preserved in order to maintain the 

 stability of the herd. 



3. Whether killing on land or sea has interfered with the regular habits and occupation of the 

 islands by the herd, or has operated to reduce the strength of the seal race as a whole by a natural 

 selection. 



4. The propriety of existing methods of driving seals from the hauling grounds to the killing 

 grounds, culling, and other practices connected therewith. 



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



During the seasons of 1891 and 1895 about 20,000 and !W,000 dead pups, respectively, were found 

 upon the islands. Y r ou should specially consider the causes of their death, whether from starvation 

 or other carfse, preserving specimens whenever practicable. 



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



