592 



INVESTMENTS. 



chased at $11 a skin, these September purchases having been made at 

 my direction immediately after the receipt of the information concern- 

 ing the reduced catch on the Pribilof Islands. 



Our Northwest Coast purchases of 1891 were made in open market. 

 The still higher prices paid in that year were directly due to the so- 

 called modus rivendi between the United States and Great Britain, 

 whereby the Pribilof catch was reduced to 7,500 skins, and sealing in 

 the waters of Bering Sea entirely prohibited. 



Month. 



May 



J uni' 



Sl'ptt niix ■!• 



October... 



18S7. 



Number 

 of seal- 

 skins 

 pur- 

 chased. 



Total price 



May . . . 

 August 



October 



730 

 57 



4, 7U6 



$3,910.00 



295. HO 



27, 138. 40 



Average 

 price 



per skin. 



18SS. 



$8, 237. 05 



4,831.40 



20,208.75 



20, 700. 74 



1889. 



April . . 

 May... 



June 



July... 



Ti. » 



Do. 



August 



520 



1,002 



233 



L38 



G78 



21 



1,137 



$3,236 00 

 13, 022. 'JO 

 1.440.25 

 1,000.75 

 4, SO,). 0.3 

 150.8U 

 7, 150. 1/0 



$4.40 

 4.49 

 5.75 

 5.61 



$0. 12 

 6.02 

 0. 18 

 7.01 

 7.17 

 6.28 

 6.29 



1889— Continued. 



Month. 



$5.35 August. 

 5.17 October. 

 5.70 



Number 

 of seal- 



pur- 

 chased. 



May 



June 



Do 



September 



Do 



October 



Do 



Do 



May. 



Do 



July. 



490 

 030 



Total price. 



Average 



price 

 per skin. 



$3, 507. 75 

 4, 882. 50 



1890. 



1891. 



1,487 

 26 



105 



$22. 232. 00 



312.00 



1, 715. 00 



$7.03 

 7.75 



$9.48 

 8.69 

 6.97 



10. 98 



11. 00 

 11.27 

 11.00 

 11.16 



14.05 

 12. 00 

 10. 33 



In considering the number of shins taken during the past it must be 

 borne in mind that the schooners have frequently 



Theodore T. Williams, been ser iously interfered with in their work by 

 *' the cruisers of the United States Government. 



Mr. Miln, surveyor of the port of Victoria, in his report to the Domin- 

 ion Government, of which I was so fortunate as to secure a copy, stated 

 that if not interfered with by cruisers a large-sized schooner would 

 surely capture 3,000 skins during the season in the Bering. Mr. Miln's 

 estimates in that respect, as in many other matters, I found to be fair 

 and honest. * * * 



I append, as a part of this affidavit, a copy of the report I math' to 

 the Alaska Commercial Company on this subject in 1889, and which 

 they used for the purpose hereinbefore set forth, and I desire to add 

 that subsequent inquiry has proved that the statements and con- 

 clusions in the report I then made were correct. It must be taken 

 into consideration that the estimates of the profits of sealing voyages, 

 and other matters contained in that report, were based upon the value 

 of skins in that and former years. Subsequently skins have increased 

 in value, and profits of large catches would therefore be proportionately 

 greater, but the conditions of sealing have not changed since then, nor 

 can they change, with the exception that the fleet ot sailing vessels has 

 hugely increased, consequently the destruction of seals has been much 

 greater in the last two years. 



