ORAL AEGUMENT OF FREDERICK R. COUDERT, ESQ. 409 



make a part of this affidavit a table, (marked A,) giving the names of the vessels 

 seized by me in Behriug Sea wliile violating the law of the United States in relation 

 to the taking of fur-bearing animals. 



I examined the skins taken from sealing vessels seized in 1887 and 1889, over 12,000 

 skins and of these at least two-thirds or three-fonrths were the skins of females.. 

 Of the females taken in the Pacific Ocean, and early in the season in Behring Sea, 

 nearly all are heavy with yonng, and the death of the female necessarily causes the 

 death of the unborn pup seal; in fact, I have seen on nearly every vessel seized the 

 pelts of unborn pups, which had been taken I'rom their mothers. Of the females 

 taken in Behring Sea nearly all are in milk, and I have seen the milk come from the 

 carcasses of dead females lying on the decks of sealing vessels which were more 

 than 100 miles from the Pribilof Islands. From this fact, and from the further fact 

 that I have seen seals in the water over 150 miles from the islands during the sum- 

 mer, I am convinced that the female, after giving birth to her young on the rook- 

 eries, goes at least 1.50 miles, in many cases, from the islands in search of food. It is 

 impossible to distinguish a male from a female seal in the water, except in the case 

 of a very old bull, when his size distinguishes him. Therefore open sea sealing is 

 entirely indiscriminate as to sex or age. 



The next is 

 Captain Bryant, U. S. Treasury Agent. 



{Quoted in U. S. Counter Case, p. 84.) 



Writing of the year 1870 he states : 



Formerly in March and A^jril the natives of Puget Sound took large numbers of 

 pregnant females. 



The next is 



H. H. McIntyre, Special Agent of the U. S. Treasury Department. 

 {Counter Case of the U. S., p. 84.) 



It may also be stated in support of this supposition that nearly all the five thou- 

 sand seals nimuallj' caught on the British Columbian coast are pregnant females 

 taken in the waters about the 1st of June while apjjarently proceeding northward 

 to the Pribilof group. 



(This statement is contained in an official report, dated December 9, 1869 and pub- 

 lished in Senate Ex. Doc. No. 32, 41st Cong, second Sess., p. 35.) 



We then have the testimony of: 



Captain Daniel McLean. 



{Case of U. S., Apiyendix, vol. II, p. 443.) 



. He is a Nova Scotian by birth, and one of the best known sealing captains. Mr. 

 Thomas Mowat, Canadian Inspector of Fisheries makes the following statements 

 "with reference to this witness: "Capt. Donald (Daniel) McLean, one of our most 

 successful sealing captains, and one of the first to enter into the business of tracking 



seals from California to Behring Sea", etc And again : " Capt. Donald McLean 



and his brother are expert sealers." (See reports of Department of Fisheries of 

 Canada, 1886, p. 247.) 



Capt. McLean has been engaged in pelagic sealing for 11 years as master of ves- 

 sels and deposes in part as follows: 



Q. Of what sex are the seals taken by you, or usually killed by hunting vessels in 

 the North Pacific and Behring Sea? — A. Females. 



Q. What percentage of them are cows? Suppose you catch 100 seals, how many 

 males would you have among them ? — A. About 10. 



Q. What percentage of the cows taken are with piip? — A. The females are mostly 

 all with pup, that is, up until the 1st of July 



Q. Have you noticed any decrease in the quantity of animals in the last few 

 years? — A. Yes, Sir. 



Q. To what do you attribute the cause? — A. Killing off" the females. 



Q. If sealing continues as heretofore, is there any danger of exterminating 

 them? — A. Yes, Sir; they will all be exterminated in three years, and there will be 

 no more sealing. 



Q. Do you think it is absolutely necessary to protect the cows in the Behring 

 Sea?— A. Yes, Sir. 



