268 ORAL ARGUMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. PHELPS. 



]Mr. Phelps. — No, I am coming to that. I want to get in the testi- 

 mony of some of tliese witnesses, and then I will observe upon that in 

 connection with Mr. Elliott: 



To show the wonderful vitality of the male seal, I will give one instance; 



I do not care to follow that np. 



Mr. (Hidden who was on the Island from 1SS2 to 1885 — yon will see 

 these Agents give different periods — in the Appendix to the Argument 

 at page 237, says : 



The driving from the haniing gronnds to the hilling gronnds was always con- 

 dncted with the greatest care; was done at night or very early in the inorniug 

 slowly and with freqnent rests, so tliat the seals miglit not become overlieated. 

 During the killing the merchantable seals were always carefully selected. No 

 females were liilled, exce]>t, i)erhaps, one or two a season by accident, and the 

 remainder of the herd wore allowed to return to the water or hauling grounds. 

 Very few seals were killed in a "drive ", and tlie skins of these were, in nearly every 

 case, retained and counted in the (]Uota- allowed to be taken by the lessees. The 

 number of seals killed in this waj' could mtt possibly have alfected seal life on the 

 island. I never saw or heard of a case where a male seal was seriously injured by 

 driving or redriving; and I do not believe that the virility of males driven was 

 destroyed by climbing over the rocks or affected in any way by driving. Certainly 

 the reproductive powers of male life on the islands were never decreased or impaired 

 by these methods. 



D"" Hereford the resident physician was there from ISSO to 1801, 

 covering the whole time in which the overdriving or re driv-ing must 

 have taken place, if it ^yas to produce any effect that is yet noticeable, 

 and he says: 



The methods employed in handling the drives are the same identiciilly as of twenty 

 years ago. The same methods were observed when I lirst went to the Islands, and 

 Avere in vogue <luring the period that I referred to as an actual increase in stnil life, 

 and have Iteen continued up to the ])resout times. There is nothing ditferent. except 

 the enormous increase of vessels and hunters engaged in pelagic sealing in Behriug 

 Sea. 



Mr. Kimmel was the Government Agent on St. George Island in 1882 

 and 1883; and he describes the manner in which these seals were driven 

 and states (pausing to read it) substantially what those witnesses whose 

 testimony I have referred to say. 



Krnkoff, an Aleut resident on St. Paul Island ever since 18G9, one of 

 the employes, says : 



The driving is all done by our own people under direction of the chiefs and we 

 never drive faster than about half a mile in one hour. We very seldom drive twice 

 from one rookery in one week. . . 



I never saw a seal killed by overdriving or by overheating; odd ones do die on the 

 drives by smothering, but their skins are taken by the company and are counted iu 

 with the others. 



Mr. Loud was the Agent from 1884 to 1889, and he says: 



While I was on the islands I attended nearly every "drive" of the bachelor seals 

 from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds, — 



— as it was his duty to do, — 



And these "drives" were conducted by the natives with great care, and no seals 

 were killed by overdriving, jilcnty of time being always given them to rest and cool 

 off. A few were smothered by the seals climbing ovei' each other when wet, but the 

 number was very inconsiderable, 



and so on. 



D"- Mclntyre was on the Islands from 1870 to 1882, and from 1885 to 

 1880; and he testifies fuithcr to the same ]nu'port with his testimony 

 that I read before, and I will omit reading it now. 



T>^ Noyes was a resident physician on the Islands from 1880 to 1803; 

 and his testimony is to the same effect. 



