230 



PUR-SEAL HERD OF ALASKA. 



In this distinct affirmation and state- 

 ment, Mr. Lembkey tells the committee 

 that a "yearling" fur-seal skin of his own 

 identification and measurement is 36^ 

 inches long. It then became, in order to 

 understand what the lengths of those 

 12,920 fur-seal skins were, which he took 

 during the season of 1910 on the Pribilof 

 Islands, and then certified them into the 

 record of his work as being — all of them — 

 ' ' taken from male seals not under 2 years 

 of age." (See testimony Apr. 13, 1912, 

 pp. 428, 429, Hearing No. 9.) 



Lembkey declares that he can 

 not distinguish the sex of year- 

 ling seals; that he does not kill 

 them. 



The Chairman. How many did you 

 kill last year? 



Mr. Lembkey. We killed 12,920. 



Q. How many had the old fur company . 

 killed the year before? — A. They killed 

 14,000 and something. 



Q. What was the youngest seal you 

 killed; what age? — A. Two years old. 



Q. The statement lias been made that it 

 is hardly possible to distinguish the male 

 and the female at that age? — A. At 2 years 

 old? 



Q. Yes; what is your opinion? — A. 

 There is considerable difficulty in distin- 

 guishing the young males and females. 

 There is considerable difficulty in distin- 

 guishing the male and the female year- 

 ling. They are both of the same size and 

 general formation. It is almost impossi- 

 ble for anybody not an expert to pick 

 them out and distinguish between them, 

 and it is rather difficult, even for an ex- 

 pert ; but of the 2-year-olds the females are 

 not on the hauling grounds; they are on 

 the breeding rookeries for their initial 

 impregnation. The 2-year-old males, on 

 the other hand, are on the liauling out 

 grounds. 



Q. In the killing last year, did you kill 

 any female seals? — A. Not to my knowl- 

 edge, sir. I had general supervision, as I 

 say, over the work on both islands, but, 

 being back and fortli from day to day, I 

 was not present at every killing and could 

 not, of course, be; but 1 carefully inter- 

 rogated this morning Mr. Judge, who had 

 charge of the killing on St. Paid, and Maj. 

 Clark, who had charge on St. George, as to 

 whether any female seals had been killed 

 during the past season, to tlieir knowl- 

 edge, and they stated that none had been 

 killed. (Dixon hearing, Feb. 4, 1911. p. 

 10, U. S. Senate Com. on Conservation 

 Nat. Resources.) 



But Lembkey is compelled to 

 admit that he took 7,733 yearling 

 skins in 1910. 



Mr. Lembkey having thus identified 

 "7,733" of his 12,920 skins as "small 

 pups" and "extra small pups," the com- 

 mittee then examined him as to the 

 lengths of those "small pup" and "extra 

 small pup" skins; he then testified as 

 follows, page 441, Hearing No. 9: 



"Mr. Elliott. I am getting at the 

 analysis of your catch which you have 

 given here already. You have given in a 

 statement here that 8,000 of them were 

 'small" and 'extra small.' 



"Mr. Lembkey. 7,700. 



"Mr. Elliott. 7,700? 



"Mr. Lembkey. 7,733 were small and 

 extra small pups. 



"Mr. Elliott. Mr. Eraser tells us that 

 those seals, none of them measured more 

 than 34 inclies nor less than 30 imdies. 



"Mr. Lembkey. The committee can 

 see what Mr. Eraser states. Mr. Eraser 

 states that small pups measured 33| 

 inches in length." 



The Chairman. What would that indi- 

 cate as to age? 



Mr. Elliott. 1 am coming to that — 



"Mr. Elliott. From there [indicating] 

 to there [indicating] on that diagram 



"Mr. Lembkey. 33f inches in length, 

 and extra small pups measured 30 inches 

 in length. 



"Mr. Elliott. Then you have some 

 extra small pups there which makes it 

 8,000? 



■'Mr. Lembkey. Only 11 of those. 



"Mr. Elliott. It does not amount to 

 anything. 



"Mr. Lembkey. It just makes your 

 8,000 about 300 more than the actual 

 number. 



"Mr. Elliott. That is the reason I 

 used those round numbers. It does not 

 amount to anytliing one way or the other. 



"Mr. Lembkey. The actual number is 

 ;M)0 short of 8.000, Mr. Elliott." 



Mr. Lnmbkey thus testifies that his own 

 summary and official record of the meas- 

 urements of "7,733 fur sealskins," which 

 lie took during the season of 1910 on the 



