28 THE DEPONENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE. 



employment, as well as natural inclination, has given me an oppor- 

 tunity for familiarizing myself with the character of the fur-seal in- 

 dustry and the habits of the seals, and has also brought me in contact 

 with many people engaged in the hunting of the fur-seals, and of the 

 general methods employed in catching them. 



Max Heilbronner, having been duly sworn, deposes and says: I am 

 the secretary of the Alaska Commercial Company 



Max Heilbronner ,p. 509. of San Francisco, and as such have custody of all 

 accounts of said company. 



John A. Henriques, of New London, Conn., being duly sworn, deposes 

 and says: I am 05 years of age, and a captain in 



J. A. Henriques, -p. 31. the U. S. Revenue Marine, and have been in the 

 service for twenty-nine years. In the fall of 1868 

 I was ordered to Sitka, and in the spring of 1809 received instructions 

 to proceed at once with the revenue steamer Lincoln to Bering Sea in 

 order to protect the seal life from depredations, information having been 

 received that seal-skins had been taken from the Pribilof Islands by 

 unauthorized persons during the previous season. On the 4th of May, 

 1809, I left Sitka for Kodiak ; on the 13th of May I left Kodiak pursu- 

 ant to orders, with 14 men of the Second Artillery and the commissioned 

 officer, Lieut. Mast. Thence proceeded to the Pribilof Islands, touching 

 at Unalaska. On May 22 I landed a portion of the troops and Lieut. 

 Barnes, of the Revenue Service, with rations and stores, on St. Paul Is- 

 land, one of the Pribilof group. The troops were here landed for the 

 purpose of enforcing the United States statute providing for the protec- 

 tion of seal life. Lieut. Barnes had charge of St. Paul Island, and no 

 seals were allowed to be killed, except a sufficient number for the food 

 of the natives, and these were to be killed only under the direction of 

 said Lieut. Barnes. 



After landing I called the natives together, and through an interpre- 

 ter informed them of the purport of the orders and directions of the 

 Treasury Department in relation to the island and the natives readily 

 agreed to follow such instructions. I had heard from the natives that 

 seals w-ere very timid, and thereupon ordered all the dogs on the island 

 to be killed, which order was executed within ten minutes after it was 

 given. I further asked the natives to surrender all firearms in their 

 possession until the close of the sealing season, so that the sound of 

 the firing of the same might not disturb the seals; this also they im- 

 mediately did. During the time I was on the island I particularly 

 noticed the care that the natives took not to disturb the seal rookeries, 

 even warning some of our party from the use of tobacco in any form 

 in the neighborhood of such rookeries. On May 24th I landed Lieut. 

 Henderson, of the Revenue Marine, on St. George Island with the re- 

 mainder of the troops, their stores and equipments. Lieut. Henderson 

 was vested with the same authority on St. George Island that Lieut. 

 Barnes had on St. Paul Island. Here I also had an interview with the 

 natives as on St. Paul Island, and they too, readily complied with the 

 orders in relation to dogs and the use of firearms above stated. Every 

 precaution that was possible was taken by the Government officers to 

 protect the seal life on the islands and also to prevent the breeding 

 rookeries from being disturbed in any way. 



Q. What is your name, age, residence, and occupation 1 ? — A. My name 

 is AVilliam Hen son; I am 30 years old; I reside 



Wm. Eenson, p, 488. in this city; I have been occupied in seal-hunting 

 for about eight years 



