SEAL-HUNTING SOUTHERN SEAS. 519 



end by precipitous cliffs, across which it is quite impossible to 

 transport oil iu casks, nor can boats laud from the sea, or ves- 

 sels lie at anchor in the offing, from the fact that the beach is 

 on the west, or windward coast, and exposed to the full violence 

 of the wind. . . . 



"The increasing scarcity of the sea-elephant, and consequent 

 uncertainty in hunting it, together with the diminished demand 

 for the oil since the introduction of coal-oil into general use, 

 have caused a great falling off in the business of elephant-hunt- 

 ing. The Crozet Islands, for example, had not been 'worked' 

 for five years, and at Kergueleu there was only one small 

 schooner engaged in this pursuit, two others making Three Isl- 

 and Harbor their headquarters, but spending the 'season' at 

 Heard's Island, three hundred miles to the southward. It may, 

 therefore, be reasonably hoped that these singular animals, but 

 lately far on the way toward extinction, will have an opportu- 

 nity to increase again in numbers, and that sealers may learn 

 from past experience to carry on their hunting operations with 

 more judgment, sparing breeding females and very young cubs. 

 When the Monongahela visited the Crozet Islands on Decem- 

 ber 1, they found the sea-elephant very numerous, although left 

 undisturbed for only five seasons."* 



At the Falkland Islands, where at the beginning of the pres- 

 ent century the Sea-Elephants occurred in great troops, they 

 long since became virtually exterminated, as has been the case 

 at most of the early sealing-grouuds. In this work of destruc- 

 tion American vessels have taken a prominent part, and for 

 many years have "maintained a monopoly of the business," 

 most of them sailing from New London, Ct. 



As an interesting reminiscence of the palmy days of Sea-Ele- 

 phant hunting, and as conveying a vivid picture of the scenes 

 and incidents of the business, I quote the following from a re- 

 cent account by Mr. Charles Lauman, based on the unpublished 

 journals and log-books of some of the chief participants. Says 

 Mr. Lauman : " But it is of Heard's Island that we desire espe- 

 cially to speak in this paper. It is about eighteen miles long 

 and perhaps six or seven wide ; and by right of discovery is an 

 American possession. For many years the merchants of New 

 London cherished the belief that there was land somewhere 



* Contributions to the Natural History of Kcrguelen Island, made in con- 

 nection with the United States Transit-of- Venus Expedition, 1874-75. Bull. 

 U. S. Nat, Mus., No. 3, pp. 39, 40, 1876. 



