516 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



tliere is some falling off, it is certain, however, this vast number of animals, so val- 

 uable to the Government, are [sic] still on the increase. The condition of all the 

 rookeries could not be better, and the seals undisturbed when ashore, seem to take 

 great comfort out of their season of rest after a long winter's voyage at sea. 



# * * * s * * 



Geo. E. Tingle, Treasury Agent. 

 (Senate Ex. Doc. No. 31, Fiftieth Congress, first session.) 



[The bogus official report of 1888.] 



Office of Speciax, Agent of the Treasury Department, 



St. Paul Island, Alaska, July SI, 1888. 

 Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of the operations of the fur- 

 seal islands of Alaska for the year ending July 31, 1888. 



# * * # ■>!• * -Jf 



The breeding rookeries were later filling this year than for several years past. I 

 may say that fully three-fourths of the cows and bulls were ten days later hauling 

 ont than usual, which at the time gave the impression there would be a shortage this 

 season of killable seals, as well as breeders. 



I am happy to be able to report that although late landing, the breeding rookeries 

 are filled out to the lines of measurement heretofore made, and some of them much 

 beyond those lines, showing conclusively that seal life is not being depleted, but is 

 fully up to the estimates given in my report of 1887. 



» * * # # # * 



Geo. R. Tingle, Treasury Agent. 



(Senate Ex. Doc. No. 90, Fiftieth Congress, second session.) 



[Treasury agent's journal, St. George Island (pp. 12, 13).] 



J\me 15, 1887. — The following was received on the 13th : 



'' Measurement of rookeries by Dr. Noyes, acting assistant Treasury agent, St. George 

 Island, January 4, March 1, and April 22, 1887. ^ 



Rookery. 



Sea mar- 

 gin. 



"Width. 



Square feet. 



Seals. 



East 



Zapadnie 



Little East.. 

 Starry Arteel 

 Near North. . 



Total . . 



2,200 



2,100 



600 



900 



3,500 



200 

 160 

 125 

 575 

 300 



440, 000 



336, 000 



75, 000 



517, 000 



1, 050, 000 



220, 000 

 168, 000 

 37, 500 

 258, 750 

 525, 000 



9,300 



2, 418, 500 



1, 209, 250 



"The measurement of the above rookeries by H. W. Elliott July 12-15, 1873, gives 

 as the total of males, females, and young seals on the breeding rookeries, 163,420, 

 while the company killed 25,000 seals on St. George, or one-fourth of the catch. 



"The same oflicer gives the number of breeding seals on St. Paul Island July 10 to 

 18, at 3,030,250, or twenty times the number on St. George, and yet ouly three times 

 the number of seals were taken on St. Paul. It is evident that Mr. Elliott's meas- 

 urements of St. George rookeries were not correct, or the company could not have 

 taken 25,000 from so small a showing. 



• "With reference to this official entry in the St. George journal, the following note from my jour- 

 nal should be transcribed in simple justice to Dr. Noyes: 



Village of St. Geoege, July 35, 1890. 



Dr. li. A. Noyes, who made |the measurements of the rookeries of St. George Island in 1887, long 

 before a breeding seal had made its appearance upon them, and who sent them over to St. Paul to George 

 E. Tingle, who in turn under date of June 10, 1887, orders them .spread upon tlie record as "absolutely 

 correct" (neither man had ever seen, up to that hour, the rookeries when covered with breeding seals as 

 epecifledin these measurements aforesaid), this day personally entered a disclaimer to me as to any 

 responsibility for these estimates of the numbers of seals on the St. George rookeries, wh^ch Tingle 

 declares "absolutely correct." He said tome thathe did not knowanything about surveying; thathe 

 made those measurements of space in length and depth at Mr. Tingle's request, and seiit them over 

 without making any estimates of the number of seals that might be within the lines of his measure- 

 ments. That estimate of 1,209,250 .seals on the St. George rookeries in 1887 was made wholly outside 

 of his knowledge or suggestion. 



