2 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The followinu' telegram was received from the Commissioner on 

 July 9 : 



Trosidcnt directs AlbatrofiS to carry agents of tlieGoverniiieiit to Seal Islands, lieriug 

 Sea, and remain witli tlieni during their investigation to continue all summer. You 

 ■will arrange to carry out President's instructions. Fish C'ommissifm work will Lo 

 given up unless yon find o])])()rtunity ti> do something. Agents will meet you in San 

 Francisco. Full details later. 



Ensign H. B. Wilson, U. S. Navy, reported for duty on the 10th. 



Learning- from the i)ublic press that Prof. T. O. Mendenliall, superin- 

 tendent of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, had been ai)pointed 

 commissioner, 1 met him by arrangementon his arrival in San Francisco 

 and made all necessary i)reparations for tlic voyage. His colleague, 

 Y>r. C. Hart Merriam, liad not arrived, but was expected at afly time; 

 and then they would be ready to sail. 



Little remained to be done except to take on a i'luther supply of fuel, 

 mess stores, etc., and, returning to San Francisco on the 14:th, final 

 preparations were completed the next day, when the following telegram 

 was received from the Commissioner: 



T. C. Mendeuhall and C. Hart Merriam have been designated as agents to visit 

 Bering Sea. In accordance with President's directions you will receive them on 

 board and carry out the instructions tliey may give you. All possible facilities for 

 the conduct of their inquiries will be furnished by you. 



The commissioners came on board at 5 p. m., July 10, when we imme- 

 diately got under way and proceeded to sea en route to the Seal Islands, 

 via Unalaska. It was desirable to reacli our destination as soon as 

 practicable, yet I deemed it advisable to start at moderate speed, Avith 

 tires under one boiler only, as nearly all of the engineer's force were 

 new to the ship, and strangers to each other. A heavy head sea was 

 encountered during the first night and next day, but on the ISth the 

 weather moderated, and everj'thing was working so smoothly that fires 

 were started under the second boiler, and the si)eed increased to 10^ 

 and .11 knots per hour. 



Tiie weather was generally cloudy, with frequent mists and showers 

 of rain, and light to moderate winds from northwest to soutliAvest. Few 

 birds were seen during the trip, mostly petrels and the broM^n albatross; 

 A question arose as to whether the same birds followed the vessel day 

 after day, and, to decide the point, one of the latter was taken and 

 labeled; when released he deviated neither to the right nor left, but 

 disappeared as quickly as his rapid flight would allow, and was never 

 seen again. Whales were of almost daily occurrence, and porpoises 

 were seen occasionally. No seals were observed, however, outside of 

 Bering Sea. 



The water was literally covered for hours at a time during the trip 

 Avith velellas, medusa', and floating barnacles, the latter in clusters 

 from 1 to 6 inches in diameter, each individual being joined by its stem 

 to a fleshy mass common to the colony. Many of these maSvSes were 

 opened and found to contain the skeleton of a velella. A piece of kelp 



