274 ORAL ARGUMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. PHELPS. 



Then, on page 139. 



When the hoUuschickie are up on laud: — 



Sir Charles Russell. — You really mast read the next line: 



Such was the uuinber and method of the young male seals in 1872-1874. 



Mr. Phelps. — Well, really, I have not time to read much of this. 



Sir Charles Eussell. — Yes, I will not interpose. 



Mr. Phelps. — If I make a reference, it is by no means my purpose 

 to give any unfair deduction from Mr. l<]lliott. You will see by reference 

 to pages 71 and 71, he regards the methods ado])ted on the Pribilof 

 Islands as excellent; and he describes the drives in the parts quoted 

 from his Report of 1871 on pages 122 and 128. 



Now on page 209 of his present report he says: 



I should remark that the driving of the seals has been very carefully doue, no 

 extra rushing and smothering of the herd, as it was frequently done in 1872. 

 Mr. Gott' began with a sharp admonition and it has been scrupulously observed, 

 thus far, by the natives. 



Then on page 283, he says : 



Yesterday afternoon I went back to Tolstoi over the seal road on which the drive 

 above tallied was made in the night aud morning of the 7th inst. ; the number of 

 road "faints" or skins was not large, which shows that the natives had takeu 

 great care in driving these seals; this they have uniformly done thus far. 



Mr. Justice Harlan. — What year Avas he speaking of there — 1800. 



Mr. Phelps. — 1800 — when he was on tiie Island. He had not been 

 there since 1870. You will find what he says about killing females on 

 l^age 74. 



We do not touch or disturb those females as they grow up and live; aud we never 

 will if the law aud present management is continued. 



Then on page 213 he says: 



In 1835 for the tirst time in the history of this industry on these islands was the 

 vital principle of not killing female seals, recognized. 



He says again that according to his observations of 1872 to 1874 and 

 1870, the herd could safely support a draft far larger than 100,000, pro- 

 bably as hi'-ge as 180,000 annually. That will be found on page 00. 



He was there in the three years 1872 to 1874; he was there again in 

 1870 and he does not intimate in the report of 1890 that the condition of 

 1870 was not as good as that of the previous years 1872, 1873 and 1874. 



Now what does he say about pelagic sealing. This is on page IX. 



I could figure out from the known number of skins which these hunters had placed 

 on the market, a statement of the loss and damage to the rookeiies — to the females 

 and young born aud unborn, for that is the class from which the poacher secures at 

 least 85 p. c. of his catch. 



And on page 13 he says : 



The young male seals have been directly between the drive, club and poacher since 

 1882, while the females have had but one direct attack outside of natural causes, 

 they have been, however, the chief quarry of the i)olagic sealer during the last live 

 years. 



Then if you will turn to page 214 you will see what he says on another 

 point that I have not observed upon — perhaps shall not — that is the 

 loss through wounding and sinking of seals. It says: 



Four thousand female seals heavy with their unborn young are killed in order to 

 §ecure every one thousand skius takeu. (See also page 85 foot note.) 



