ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 173 



pact, without waste of space, and never crowded. Such being the 

 case, it is unimportant to know the actual number of seals upon the 

 rookeries, for any change in the number of seals, which is the point 

 at issue, increases or decreases in size, and the rookeries taken col- 

 lectively will sliow a corresponding increase or decrease in the number 

 of breeding seals ; consequently changes in the aggregate of pups born 

 annually, upon which the extent and safety of the fisheries depend, 

 can be observed accurately from year to year by following these lines 

 of survey. 



Surveyed plats of the rookeries. — If, then, a plan or map of 

 each rookery be made every year, showing accurately its size and 

 form when at its greatest expansion, which is between the 10th and 

 25th of July annually, a comparison of this map will give the relative 

 number of the breeding seals as they increase or diminish from year 

 to year. I submit with this report maps of St. Paul and St. George 

 islands, showing the extended location of breeding rookeries and 

 hauling grounds upon them. These maps are from surveys made in 

 July, 1874, by Mr. Elliott and myself, and a max) of each rookery on 

 both islands, drawn from careful surveys made by Mr. Elliott in 1872, 

 shows them now as they were in the season of 1874 as compared with 

 that of 1872. I respectfully recommend that enlarged copies of these 

 latter maps be furnished to the Government agents in charge of the 

 islands, and that they be required to compare them each year with 

 the respective rookeries and note what change in size and form, if 

 any, exists upon them. This, if carefully done, will afford data after 

 a time by which the seal fisheries can be regulated with comparative 

 certainty so as to produce the greatest revenue to the Government 

 without injury to this valuable interest. 



Number op seals killed. — Since 1870 there have been killed on 

 both islands 112,000 young male seals each year. Whether this 

 slaughter has prevented the seals from increasing in numbers or not, 

 and if so, to what extent, can only be deduced from their past history, 

 which unfortunately is very imperfectly given. In 1836 to 1839 there 

 were fewer seals upon the islands than had ever been seen before since 

 their first discovery in 178G. On St. Paul Island then there were not 

 more than 12,000 or 15,000 of all kinds. The killing of them was then 

 stopped, and not resumed until 1845, when it was done gradually, and, 

 as had never been the case before, only the young males were killed. 

 The rookeries continued to increase in size until 1857, since which 

 time they have remained in about the same aggregate, although a less 

 number of bachelor seals were killed yearly between 1857 and 1868 

 than have been slaughtered since. 



Thoughts on their increase and diminution for the future. — 

 This would seem to show that there is a limit beyond which they will 

 not increase, and that this limit, a natural one, has been reached. If 

 they could be under our control and protection at all times, and if a 

 sufficient supply of food for them could be procured, we would doubt- 

 less be able to cause them to multiply, for there are more of both sexes 

 born each year than are necessary to meet the losses from the natural 

 causes of death, such as old age, disease, and accidents, and, in real- 

 ity, we do not even know where they are and what they are about for 

 seven months in each year, while we do know that they have deadly 

 enemies, which make sad havoc, particularly among the pups and 

 yearlings, inasmuch as a single killer- whale has been found to have 

 as many as sixteen young seals in its stomach when destroyed and 

 opened for examination. 



The extent of human protection.— Our protection of them can 



