The Audubon Societies 



93 



nuc cuttor. Whik- it was impossiljlc Ui 

 elTcit a landinjj; u\n>n the (Ifsi'itrd sand 

 spit, the vessel went close enouj^h to the 

 island to note that there had hcen no 

 human habitations upon the si)ot for 

 quite a period. Many birds were dis- 

 covered there, and, as one of the Thetis 

 boats neared the shore, a large number 

 of sea-lions were found. Xo evidences of 

 depredations from i)oai hers were dis- 

 covered, and the Thetis then resumed 

 her cruise, returning to Midway Island, 

 where she took on mail froiu the cable 

 station. 



In order to make sure that the de- 

 struction of the uncured skins left on 

 Laysan had been complete, the Thetis, 

 upon leaving Midway for the last time, 

 called again at Laysan. .\ visit ashore 

 showed that the skins left there were 

 rendered worthless, and that their 

 destruction had been complete. On 

 Daro, or Dowsett Reefs, which was the 

 next point visited by the cutler, but few 

 birds were found hovering about the 

 island. No attempt was made to effect a 

 landing there but the cutter cruised about 

 the reefs, and several observations were 

 made which satisfied the officers that no 

 poachers had visited the Dowsett reefs 

 recently. A boat was sent ashore when 

 the Thetis arrived off the French Frigate 

 shoals. No birds were found there. The 

 shoals were inaccessible, and no landing 

 was made. On several sand islands near 

 the shoals no sign of human habitation 

 was noted. It was also a noteworthy fact 

 that throughout the tour of the Thetis 

 to the outlying bird islands, the officers 

 failed to note the presence of Japanese 

 fishing craft there. The P'rench Frigate 

 Shoals was the last stop made by the 

 Thetis before returning to Honolulu. 

 The weather from the time of leaving the 

 shoals was very rough. The elements 

 served to retard the progress of the cutter. 

 and she was much delayed by the strong 

 northeasterly winds and seas. 



Alnjost immediately after dropping 

 anchor, the Thetis was visited by a 

 party of Federal and Territorial officers. 

 United States District .\ttornev Breckons 



and Inited States .Marshall Hendry were 

 among tlie first to go aboard, and to take 

 charge of the twenty-three Japanese 

 who were virtually prisoners upon the 

 cutter. The vessel was also boarded by 

 representatives from the customs service, 

 whose duty it will be to take charge of 

 the ten tons or more of confiscated bird 

 plumage. Captain Jacobs estimates that 

 he has secured 259,000 bird wings, be- 

 sides a number of cases of stuffed birds. 



It is possible that the Thetis may be 

 moored alongside one of the wharves 

 today, in order to permit of her discharging 

 the large quantity of plunder. 



The disposition of the feathers is a 

 matter which will lie with the Treasury 

 Department officials at Washington. It 

 is understood that the plumage will be 

 destroyed, though it is conceded that the 

 confiscated feathers and skins are of 

 considerable value. 



Four small boats found by the officers 

 of the Thetis, two on Laysan and two on 

 Lysiansky, were left there, as they were 

 small, and practically valueless, owing 

 to exposure to the elements. 



Saving the Fur- Seal 



.\bout four months ago, the Committee 

 on Game Protective Legislation of the 

 Camp-Fire Club of America decided that 

 the fast-vanishing fur-seal needed the 

 assistance of independent citizens. Sta- 

 tistics show that the seal herd has dimin- 

 ished from about 360,000, in 1900, when 

 an official survey was made by the United 

 States Fish Commission, to an estimated 

 30,000, in 1909. 



.\ccordingly, a campaign was inaugu- 

 rated for the purpose of inducing Congress 

 and the Cabinet to stop the killing of seals 

 on our islands, and to make treaties with 

 foreign governments which would lead 

 to the total suppression of seal-killing at 

 sea, or "pelagic sealing." 



The Camp-Fire Club approached the 

 Senate Committee on the Conservation 

 of National Resources, and submitted a 

 resolution providing against the making of 

 a new lease for seal-killing, in place of the 



