ORAL ARGUMENT OF SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q. C. M. P. 219 



■waytack, the little cows have a rongh-and-tnmble time of it when they begin to 

 arrive in small numbers at first; for no sooner is tlie pretty animal fairly established 

 on the station of male number one, who has welcomed her there, than he, perhaps, 

 sees another one of her style in the water from whence she has come, and, in obe- 

 dience to his polygamous feeling, devotes himself anew to coaxing the later arrival, 

 by that same winning manner so successful in the first case ; then when bull number 

 two, just back, observes bull number one off guard, he I'enches out with his long 

 strong neck and picks up the unhappy but passive cow by the scruff of her's just aa 

 a catdoes a kitten, and deposits her upou his seraglio ground; then bulls number 

 three and four, and so on, in the vicinity, seeing this higli-handed operation, all 

 assail one another, especially number two, and for a moment have a tremendous 

 tight, perhaps lasting half a minute or so, and during this commotion the little cow 

 is generally moved, or moves, farther back from the water, two or three stations 

 more, where, when all gets quiet again, she usually remains in peace. 



Senator Morgan. — I tliink, only in justice to myself, I should observe 

 that is the very evidence upon which I ventured to make the sugges- 

 tion to you that there might possibly be injury to the seal herd from 

 excess of bulls upon the rookery. 



Sir Richard Webster. — I have never, Senator, denied it. It has 

 no bearing with great respect upon my argument. My argument is 

 not that there may not be too many, but there may be too few; and I 

 do not suppose that you Sir would be disposed to question that — that 

 there may be too few. The point of this is to see whether there are too 

 few or not, and whether that has been the cause of the decrease. 



Now I have read from the evidence with regard to this matter, but 

 before I go further to Mr. Elliott's report will the Tribunal be kind 

 enough to oblige me once more by taking volume '6 of the Appendix o± 

 the British Case. It is part 3. I ask you, Mr. President, to be good 

 enough to refer to it so that you may see that people were perfectly 

 conscious of what Mr. Elliott was doing at this Island at the time. I 

 am going to read, first, from Mr. Goff's Eeport at page 15: 



Professor W. H. Elliott, your recent appointee as Treasury Agent has spent the 

 season here, dividing his time between the two Islands, and giving his entire atten- 

 tion to the state of the rookeries and the methods used at present in driving and 

 killing the seals, and his report will, no doubt, be of the utmost importance and of 

 great value to the department. 



Then at the bottom of the same page there is a passage about driving 

 that need not be read now, but it must be read later on. 

 And on page 17, the third paragraph: 



There is but one authority upon seal life, especially the seals of the Pribilof Islands, 

 and this is the work of Professor Henry W. Elliott, who surveyed these rookeries in 

 1872 and 1874, and his work was verified by Lieutenant Maynard and I am satisfied 

 was as near correct when made as was possible for man to chronicle, but to-day there 

 is a marked contrast in the condition of now and then. 



A little lower down, sir: 



To the extreme south-west of the island is the Reef Rookery, reported to have 

 (by Professor Elliott) 301,000 seals in 1874. It has not over 100,000 seals to-day. 

 "Garbotch", the adjoining rookery, where the Professor says he stood on Old .John 

 Rock and saw "10,000 fighting bulls", I can stand and count every bull in sight. 

 This rookery with the reef is an extending point, etc., on that point. 



Then Mr. Murray's Eeport, page 19. 



The President. — The figures seem to be excessive, in regard to the 

 diminution there mentioned. 



Sir Richard Webster. — I was not on the question of actual dimi- 

 nution. I was merely on the question of the knowledge these gentle- 

 men have of Mr Elliott. Would you please look at page 19? I will 

 not fail to regard what you say about the actual diminution, Mr. Presi- 



