108 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



animals were not diverted from their usual paths of travel. All fire, 

 arms were forbidden and never have been used on these islands in tlie 

 killing and taking of seals. In fact, unusual noise even on the ships at 

 anchor near these islands is avoided. 



V'isiting the rookeries is not permitted only on certain conditions, and 

 anything that might frighten the seals avoided. The seals are never 

 killed in or near the rookeries, but are driven a short distance inland, 

 to grounds especially set apart for this work. I do not see how it is 

 possible to conduct the sealing process with greater care or judgment. 

 Under the direction of Mr. Eedpath, on St. Paul, and Mr. Webster, on 

 St. George islands — men who have superintended this work for many 

 years — the natives do the driving, and the killing is performed under 

 the supervision of the Government agents. The natives 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. 



During the seasons of 1890 and 1891 I was in command of the reve- 

 nue cutter R7ish in Bering Sea and cruised extensively in those waters 

 around the seal islands and the Aleutian group. In the season of 1890 

 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 comi)ared with 1870. I was astonished at the 

 reduced numbers of seals and the extent of bare ground on the rook- 

 eries in 1890 as compared with that of 1870, and which in that year was 

 alive with seal life. In 1890 the North American Commercial Company 

 were unable to kill seals of suitable size to make their quota of 00,000 

 allowed by their lease, and, in my opinion, had they been permitted to 

 take 50,000 in 1891, they could not have secured that number if they 

 had killed every bachelor seal with a merchantable skin on both islands, 

 so great was the diminution in the number of animals found there. 



I arrived with my command at St. Paul Island June 7, 1891 ; at that 

 date very few seals had arrived and but a small number had been killed 

 for fresh food. On the 12th of June, 1891, we were at St. George Island 

 and found a few seals had been taken there, also for food, the number 

 of seals arriving not being enough to warrant the killing of any gi^eat 

 number. During that year I was at and around both these islands 

 every month from and including June until the 1st day of December 

 (excepting October), and at no time were there as many seals in sight as 

 in 1890. I assert this from actual observation, and it is my opinion we 

 will find less this year; and should pelagic sealing in the North Pacific 

 and Bering Sea continue, it is only a question of a very few years when 

 seal in these seas, and especially at the seal islands, will be a thing of 

 the past, for they are being rapidly destroyed by the killing of females 

 in the open sea. 



As to the percentage of seals lost in pelagic sealing where the use of 

 firearms is em])loyed, I am not able to state of my own observation, 

 but from conversations with those engaged in the business I am of the 

 opinion that the number secured is small compared with those lost in 

 attempts to secure them. No mention was ever made of any unusual 

 number of dead pups upon the rookeries having been noticed at any 

 time prior to my visit in 1870, but when I again visited the islands in 

 1890 I found it a subject of much solicitude by those interested in the 



