67 



been produced by many years of shedding seasons in wliicli it was 

 deposited. ]n all tlie close examinations tliat Lave been made by 

 many observers and experts sent to tbe coasts and islands of Bering 

 Sea and to the soutli and east of it, along the shores and islands of 

 the Aleutian cliain and the coast of the North American continent, 

 not a sign or trace of any rookery or hauling ground has been fcmnd 

 except upon the two islands of St. George and St. Paul. J^either the 

 evidence nor any rational deduction from it conveys the least conjec- 

 ture that they ever had any other home. 



No two distinct classes of aninuilshave been or can be domesticated 

 by the same means. Some have the social instinct strongly developed, 

 as dogs, horses, cattle, and sheep. Others are simply obedient to 

 superior power and skill, as the elei)hant, ass, buffalo, llama, and 

 reindeer. Others are domesticated through their greed for food and 

 need of protection, as swine and poultry. Others do not look to man 

 for any of these means of control or for food, as the fur-seals. Yet, in 

 this lowest condition of the power of enforcing or indncing domestica- 

 tion by the art of man, the result of domestication — tlie dominion of 

 man over them — is the most certain and the easiest of enforcement. 

 Filling the most exact requirements of domestication, as to their sub- 

 jection to the will of man, no reason exists why they should not be 

 classed as domestic animals. In the legislation of the United States, 

 Eussia, Japan, Chile, and the British colonies, where fur-seals go 

 ashore to breed and to shed their coats of hair and fur, the utmost pos- 

 sible protection is given them that can be efCcctcd by municipal law. 



These acts of protection assume the rightful and full control of the 

 animals, within these respective jurisdictions, disregarding all claims 

 of citizens or subjects to rights of property in the animals, or rights 

 of chase for the jjurpose of converting them into x>i'opcrty. These 

 acts go further and forbid hunting on land and sea during certain 

 seasons, and in certain areas of the ocean, and the seals are appro- 

 priated by these Governments for revenue purposes through leases 

 and licenses, for which a tax is paid. And even these privileges are 

 confined only to the citizens of the respective countries and colonies. 



In the British system of fur-seal i)rotection, the oidy country 

 omitted from the list of colonies where seals are found is Canada. 

 It has no coasts or islands on which fur-seals habitually land, and 

 has, therefore, no interest in any rookery that requires protection. 

 Canada lays broadside on the Pacilic Ocean, near to the liighway of 



