200 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



53 DECLARATION OF SAMUEL W. BUflKNAM. 



Canada, Frovlnce of Brituli Columhia, city of Victoria. 



1, Samuel W. Bnckiiiun, of tlie city of Victoria, in the Province of 

 Britisli Columbia, and Dominion of Canada, master mariner, do solemnly 

 and sincerely declare as follows: 



1. The hereinafter -mentioned schooner "Ar!^]" is a British vessel 

 registered at the port of St. John, in the Province of New Brunswick, 

 one of the provinces of the Dominion of Canada. 



2. The registered owners of the said schooner "Ariel" are John M. 

 Taylor and Bela R. Lawrence, both of the city of St. John aforesaid, 

 who each own twenty-four shares thereof, and myself, who own the 

 remaining sixteen shares thereof. 



3. I am the nniiiaging owner and master of the said schooner "Ariel." 



4. On the Dth day of February, A. D. 1889, 1 cleared the said schooner 

 "Ariel" at the Customs at the said port of Victoria for a iishing and 

 seal-hunting voyage in the North Pacific Ocean and Beliring Sea, and 

 on the 11th day of said month sailed from said port of Victoria on such 

 voyage. 



5. On and for said M^yage I was master of said "Ariel," and one 

 Herman Smith was mate, and said "Ariel" on said voyage carried a 

 crew of twenty-two men all told. The said schooner "Ariel" was 

 equipped and provisioned for a full season's voyage. 



6. On the 12tli day of July following, the "Ariel" entered Behring 

 Sea. The seal-skins which had been taken by the hunters on said 

 schooner in the North Pacific Ocean had been shipped to Victoria 

 before entering Behring Sea, and no skins were on board on said 12th 

 July. 



7. The hunters on the "Ariel" began sealing on the 14th day of said 

 July, and in the sixteen days following captured about 400 seal-skins. 



8. On the 30th day of said month of July, at about o'clock in the 

 morning, the United States revenue cutter "Kichard Push" came 

 alongside the "Ariel" and three oflicers from said "Kichard Push" 

 boarded the "Ariel." The said oflicers examined and searched the 

 "Ariel," asked the number of my crew, when 1 entered the sea, and 

 how many seal-skins 1 had on board, and warned and threatened me 

 that if I was caught taking seals, or with fresh seal skins on board, the 

 "Ariel" would be seized, and myself and mate ])laced under arrest. 

 The said officers also told me that they had seized the schooners "Path- 

 finder," "Black Diamond," and "Minnie," and searched other vessels 

 in the sea. The officers then left, and shortly after the cutter sailed 

 away. 



9. Fearing to remain in Behring Sea lest I should lose ray vessel and 

 be myself put in prison, I at once sailed for one of the passes leading 

 from the sea. On the 31st day of July I lost a boat with three men, and 

 remained some days in the immediate vicinity in order to pick them uj). 

 On the 2Ist August the "Ariel" sailed out of BiMiring Sea, hoimnvard 

 bound, with 814 seal skins oti board. On the 2nd day of Septend)er the 

 "Ariel" arrived at Victoria aforesaid, liilly one nn)nth earlier than the 

 usual time of arrival for sealers iVom I>ehriiig Sea. 



10. From the actual number of seals captured by the "Ariel" Ix'fore 

 being boarded as aforesaid and from the nuinlxu' a(;tually captured by 

 other sealing-vessels, with about the same e(juii)ment of boats an<l men 

 as the "Ariel," I believe that had the "Ariel" not been molested in 

 Behring Sea (and but for su(;h boarding and threatening as albresaid 

 she certainly would have remained the full season) the said "Ariei" 

 ■would have nuide a total catch of not less than 2,000 seal-skins. 



