82 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Mr. Fhelps to Mr. BouticeU. 



CusTOMS-HorsE, San Fraxcisco, 



Collectors Office, March ,?J, 1S72. 



Sir: I deem it proper to call the attention of the Department to 

 certain rumours wliich appear to Ijo well aiitbeuticated, the substance 

 of which appears in tbu ])rinted slip taken from the Daily Chronicle 

 of this date, herewith inclosed. 



In addition to the several schemes mentioned in this paper, informa- 

 tion has come to this office of another which is being organized at 

 the Hawaiian Islands for the same purpose. It is well known that, 

 during the mouth of May and the early part of .Tune in each year, the 

 fur seal, in their migration I'rom the southward to St. Paul and St. 

 George Islands, uniformly nmve through Oonimak Pass in large num- 

 bers, and also through the narrow straits near that pass Avhich sepa- 

 rate several small islands from the Aleutian Group. 



The object of these several expeditions is unquestionably to inter- 

 cept the fur seals at these narrow passages during the period above 

 mentioned, and there, by means of small boats manned l)y skilful 

 Indians or Aleutian hunters, make indiscriminate slaughter of those 

 animals in the water, after the manner of hunting sea-otters. 



The evil to be apprehended from such proceedings is not so much in 

 respect of the loss resulting from the destruction of the seals at those 

 places (although the killing of each female is in effect the destruction 

 of two seals), but the danger lies in diverting these animals from their 

 accustomed course to the Islands of St. Paul and St. George, their 

 only haunts in the United States. 



It is believed by those who have made the peculiar nature and hab- 

 its of these animals a study, that if they are by any means seriously 

 diverted I'rom the line upon Avhich they have been accustomed to move 

 northward in their passage to these islands, there is great danger of 

 their seeking other haunts, and should this occur the natural selection 

 would be Komandorsky Islands, which lie just oi)posite the Pribilov 

 Group, near the coast of Kamschatka, owned by Russia, and are now 

 the haunt of fur seals. 



That the successful prosecution of the above-mentioned schemes 

 would have the effect to drive the seals from their accustomed course 

 there can be no doubt. Considering, therefore, alone the danger 

 which is hero threatened to the interest of the Government in 

 108 the seal fisheries, and the large annual revenue derived from the 

 same, I have the honour to suggest, for the consideration of the 

 Honourable Secretary of the Treasury, the ()uestion whether the Act 

 of July 1, 1870, relating to those lisheries,does not authorize his inter- 

 ference by means of revenue cutters to pre^•ent foreigners and others 

 from doin^' such an irreparable iniscliief to this valuable interest. 

 Should the Honourable Secretary deem it expedient to send a cutter 

 into these waters, 1 would respectfully suggest that a steam-cutter 

 would be able to render the nu)st efficient service, and that it should 

 be in the region of Oonimak Pass and St. Paul and St. George Islands 

 by the 15th of May next. 

 I am, cVc, 



(Signed) T. G. Phelps, Collector. 



\ Fro7)i San Fra7icisco "Daily Chronicle," March 21, 1S72.'\ 



It is stated in reliable commercial circles that parties in Australia 

 are preparing to lit out an expedition for the capture of fur seals in 

 Behring Sea. The present high prices of fur-seal furs in London and 

 the Euro])ean markets has acted iiowerfully in stimulating cuteri)rises 

 of a like character. But a few days ago wo mentioned that a \'icto- 

 rian Company was organized for catching fur seals in the North Pacific. 

 Another party — an agent representing souui Eastern (■ai)italists — has 

 been in this city for the past week making inquiries as to the 

 feasibility of organizing an expedition for like purposes. 



