164 



PUR-SEAL HEED OF ALASKA, 



of October 11, 1908, I state to Mr. Frank 

 H. Hitchcock, who has quoted from Dr. 

 Jordan's letter to him, dated January 12, 

 1904 (Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania), 

 [reading]: 



''Now, most all of these men know 

 better, but are silent in the shadow of 

 Jordan. Even Stejneger, with his fairy 

 tale of 2 bulls being enough to serve 500 

 cows (which Jordan so gravely quotes here 

 to you with all of the pompous gravity and 

 true coarseness of ignorance) — even he 

 can not find a trace to-day of either those 

 'two bulls' or '500 cows' which he so 

 specifically describes on Copper Island 

 in 189(i — good reason — they are extinct. 

 That ghost dance has ended forever over 

 there. But Jordan does not even know 

 it at this late hour." 



Stejiieger swears he did not rec- 

 ommend renewal of the hnise: 



The Chairman. Are you a member oi 

 the advisory board on fur seals? 



Dr. Stejneger. Yes, sir. 



The Chairman. You say yor have been 

 together once or twice. When was that? 



Dr. Stejneger. The first time, I think, 

 w^as just before the expiration of the old 

 lease, and when the board recommended 

 that the Government take over the sealing 

 business and not let the islands to any 

 company to exploit. 



The Chairman. You say that was done 

 for the purpose of discussing whether there 

 should be another lease or not? 



Dr. Stejneger. Yes. We were asked 

 our opinion whether that would be the 

 better procedure for the Government, to 

 undertake the sealing itself or to lease it 

 to a company. That is my recollection. 

 I want you to understand that so far as my 

 understanding goes, these were the meet- 

 ings in which I have taken part. There 

 may have been others, for all I know. 



The Chairman. At this meeting, when 

 it was discussed as to whether there should 

 be a re-leasing of the islands, what was 

 your decision in the matter? 



Dr. Stejneger. Our recommendation 

 was that the Government take over the 

 whole business. 



The Chairman. And not lease the 

 islands any longer? 



Dr. Stejneger. And not lease the is- 

 lands any longer to any company. 



The Chairman. And you say that you 

 met at the suggestion of the Secretary of 

 Commerce and Labor? 



Dr. Stejneger. That is my recollec- 

 lection. We were appointed or we got a 

 letter from the Secretary of Commerce 

 and Tvabor asking us to serve in an advi- 

 sory capacity to him. We determined 



Sworn proof submitted that he 

 did recommend renewal of lease: 



Exhibit No. 3, being a "draft of new 

 lease for seal islands" handed to George 

 M. Bowers, December 15, 1909, by Barton 

 W. Evermann and said draft "is prepared 

 by the Bureau of Fisheries" and "by its 

 advisory board on fur-seal service, in com- 

 pliance with your request" (i. e., George 

 M. Bowers), as follows: 



Exhibit No. 3. 



Department of 

 Commerce and Labor, 



Bureau of Fisheries, 

 Washington, December 15, 1909. 

 Mr. Commissioner: There is handed 

 you herewith for your consideration a 

 draft of lease of the seal islands. Tliis has 

 been prei)ared by Mr. Lembkey and my- 

 self in compliance with your request. We 

 have endeavored to make the form of the 

 lease agree with the recommendations re- 

 cently made by the advisory board, fur- 

 seal service, in conference with the fur- 

 seal board. For your convenience a num- 

 ber of references and citations have been 

 indicated. It is believed that an exam- 

 ination of this tentative draft will enable 

 the Secretary to arrive at the exact form 

 desired. 



Respectfully, 



Barton W. Evermann. 

 Assistant in charge Scientific Inquiry. 



The lease should be renewed. It is 

 foolish to abolish killing on land while 

 seals are being killed in the water. Ces- 

 sation of killing on land means encourage- 

 ment to pelagic sealing. Should pelagic 

 or sea killing be abolished, it might be 

 well to have a closed season on land as 

 well, to allow the herd to recuperate. 



