506 ALASKAN HERD. 



I am of the opinion, from what I know of the habits and nature of the 

 fur-seal and what I have learned of open-sea seal- 

 Saml. Falconer, p. 162. ing, that the Pribilof seal herd should be pro- 

 tected in all waters which they frequent. Other- 

 wise it is only a matter of a very short time before they will be exter- 

 minated. 



If the seals become extinct, I can not conceive what these natives 

 would do for a livelihood; they know no other oc- 

 Saml. Falconer, p. 163. cupation save seal driving, which has been pur- 

 sued by them and their ancestors for a century. 

 The destruction of the seal herd would result in removing their sole 

 means of sustenance and in their being plunged into poverty, and prob- 

 able return to barbarism. The only way to keep them from starvation 

 would be to remove them from the islands, and for the Government to 

 support them. 



The Pribilof seal herd should be protected, both in Bering Sea and 



the North Pacific Ocean, because the injury to seal 



N. A. GUdden, 2>. ill. life, bringing about a decrease in the size of the 



herd, is caused by the slaughter of females in the 



open sea. If the seals are thus protected, and the existing methods 



and regulations are carried out on the islands, the seal herd will not 



decrease, but on the contrary, in my opinion, will increase. If the 



seals are not jn'otected in these waters the herd will be exterminated 



in a very short time. It is only, therefore, by protecting the seals 



everywhere in the sea and ocean that seal life can be preserved. 



The natives, for whom I am entitled to speak, as being one of them, 

 and receiving a share from the proceeds of the 

 Alex. Hansson,p. 116. sealeries, protest that the .United States Govern- 

 ment ought to have protected the rookeries against 

 deep-sea seal fishing, because we believe the seals rightly belong to us 

 and should not be killed when they are away from their island home. 

 We earnestly pray for the protection to which we are justly entitled. 



The ruthless practice of killing seals by shooting them in the sea is 



not only extravagant in the loss of skins, but is 



M. A. Healy, p. 28. also a wanton and useless destruction of a valuable 



and useful animal, and must necessarily soon lead 



to its extermination if not discontinued. 



It will be readily seen that the demoralization produced by a sealing 

 fleet of fifty to a hundred vessels with from 1,000 to 13,000 men scattered 

 over the sea, hunting and shooting indiscriminately, would soon put 

 an end to all seal life in those waters. 



Owing to the decrease of fur-seals on our own coast, marine hunters 

 have, during the last few years, turned their atten- 

 Isaao Liebss, p. 455. tiou to the Asiatic waters, and are now hunting 

 them there. These Asiatic seals have their breed- 

 ing grounds on the Commander Islands and Robben Banks. Last year 

 several additions were made to the Asiatic fleet, and large catches 

 were secured in those waters, including the fitting out of still further 

 expeditions this season for the same business. The distance is so great 

 from this coast, and typhoons are so liable to be encountered, that 



