ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



41 



be skinned. The account of seals killed up to August 1, 1873, stands 

 as follows : 



Taken by the Alaska Commercial Company- 

 Juno 



July 



Total 



For native food in May. 

 Left over from 1872 



Nvimber 

 killed. 



38, 070 

 36, 327 



74, 397 

 297 



Grand total. 



74, 694 



Salted. 



37, 732 

 36, 152 



73, 884 

 284 

 724 



74, 892 



Damaged 

 by cutting. 



338 

 175 



513 

 13 



526 



Of the above there were shipped, as per certificates to the collector 

 of customs at San Francisco, copies of which are already deposited with 

 the Department, as follows; July 14, 32,070; August 8, 5,100; August 

 9, 37,804; total, 74,980, a difference of 88 in excess appearing in count- 

 ing the skins from the bait houses for shipment over the account as 

 rendered on their beiug taken. 



There has been shipped from St. George Island, of the quota of 1873, 

 as per certificates dated July 16, 5,280; August 10, 19,404; a total of 

 24,750. Copies of these certificates have been already filed with the 

 Department. A detailed report of the seals damaged or rejected has 

 not yet been received. 



The same conditions in regard to the changes in their habits growing 

 out of the established system of killing older seals were observable as 

 noted last year. 



When the seal islands were visited by myself and Special Agent 

 H. H. Mclntyre, in the season of 1869, there was no opportunity 

 afforded for either of us to visit St. George Island to ascertain by 

 actual observation its condition and proportion as regarded number of 

 seals as compared with St. Paul. From the best sources of informa- 

 tion then obtainable it was believed to contain from one-third to one- 

 half as many as St. Paul, and on this information the number of 

 seals to be taken annually was fixed at 25,000, and St. Paul at 75,000. 

 It is now ascertained that the number of seals annually breeding on 

 St. George is less than one eighth of the number on St. Paul, and that 

 the island of St. George can not be relied on to furnish the established 

 quota of 25,000 skins annually of the desired size and quality to be of 

 prime value, and to obtain the requisite number the past seasons it has 

 been necessary to take seals too small for first-class skins. I therefore 

 recommend that the number to be taken annually on the island of St. 

 George be limited to 15,000. And in order that this may work no hard- 

 ship to the people of St. George by depriving them of a part of their 

 necessary support, I suggest that it be recommended to Congress to 

 amend the act limiting the number to be taken on the island of St. Paul 

 to 75,000 annually, so as to allow an addition of 10,000 to the quota of 

 that island, which is amply supplied to yield the requisite number, and 

 thus a portion of the population of the island of St. George may 

 remove to the island of St. Paul temporarily during the sealing season, 

 or permanently as they choose. In my report dated November 10, 1871, 

 I stated that I had caused a number of young male seals to be marked 

 by cutting their ears. This was done to determine whether as a rule 

 they returned to the rookery where they were born, as was claimed by 

 the natives. This w^as done in 1870, and the present year they were 



