1G2 MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 
to the rookeries of 1872, in addition to those now there, while the young of last 
year and the year before are also to be added. This estimate does not include the 
males under six years of age, these not being allowed on the rookeries by the older 
males, nor the yearlings. If we now add those frequenting St. George's Island, 
which number half as many, and make a very liberal discount for those that may 
be destroyed before reaching maturity, the number is still enormous. It will also 
be seen that the great importance of the seal-fishery is not to be calculated from 
the basis of its present yield, since each year adds to its extent, as with proper 
care the number can be increased until both islands are fully occupied by these 
valuable animals. 
"Prices Paid for the Skins at the Islands, and their Value in Europe. — The 
Russian Company allowed the natives the value of ten cents per skin. This was 
the jmy they received for their labor of killing, curing the skins, and delivering 
them alongside the vessel, ready- for- shipment, the company finding salt and mag- 
azines in which to salt them. 
"The parties who took advantage of the interval between the transfer of the 
territory and the enacting and enforcement of the law of the 27th of July, 1868, 
to kill and purchase of the natives, paid twenty -seven cents per skin, and had they 
been allowed to trade the present year, would have bidden forty cents apiece for 
them. To this is to be added the cost of salt, buildings, and the expense of the 
agency on shore. Their market value was at that time five dollars, so that, after a 
liberal allowance for incidental expenses, the profit must be very large. Previous 
to 1866, these skins were worth only three dollars each, but, owing to recent 
improvements in their manufacture, they have become fashionable for ladies' wear, 
and soon after the transfer of the territory to the United States the price rose to 
seven dollars. At this time, the Russians had one hundred thousand on hand, 
which were forwarded to London, the only market for seal -skins in the raw state, 
and the only place where they are dressed. The different parties which sealed on 
the islands in the summer following the purchase, took two hundred thousand, 
which so overstocked the market that they are now [1871] worth only three or 
four dollars. 
"The agents of the Russian Fur Company aimed to contol this branch of the 
fur trade in Europe by regulating the supply. To do this they sent orders a year 
in advance to have such a number killed as in their judgment the market might 
need, always keeping at the same time one year's supply on hand. At the time of 
the sale of the territory, the annual yield was estimated at eighty thousand skins. 
The opinion of the men who have the special care of the seals is, that \t has 
