150 REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



juiylit he prolitably followed in their s<?"t'i'iil iiortliward inovemeiit along; 

 the coast, alter the cessation ol' the rong,h wintry weathei'. Jt was also 

 found that some seals nii<;ht be obtained in the winter and early s})ring' 

 as far south as the coast of California, and b'fore " scalini;' weather" 

 set in on the coast of British ( 'Olumbia; and as no other protitable 

 employment offered for the sealing- schooners, it became customary for 

 them to make a cruize to the southward before engaging- in the fishery 

 to the north of the Strait of Fuca. At a later date still, the pelagic 

 Lunters ascertained, as tlie result of their own experience, that the fur- 

 seals might be followed with advantage through the eastern passes of 

 the Aleutian chain, and taken during' the mouths of July aud August, 

 and occasionally during- the early part of Se])tember, or till such time 

 as stormy weather rendered further hunting- impossible. 



583. Thus, beginning- as a purely local industry, in which the Indians 

 of the west coast of Vancouver Island, with those of the vicinity of 

 Cape Flattery in the State of Washington, were chiefly interested, the 

 sea-sealing naturally developed and extended with the increasing- 

 knowledge gained of the habits and haunts of the fur seal, till its oper- 

 ations covered almost the entire migration-range of tlie animal, and the 

 number of skins obtained became so considerable, that the sealing 

 interests of the Alaska Commercial Com])any (at that time the lessees 

 of the Pribylott' and Commander Islands), and their heretofore ])rotit- 

 able monoi)oly of the fur-seal of the North Pacitic, was notably affected. 

 Not until this occurred was any serious i)rotest, or, in fact, any com- 

 plaint whatever raised against the practice and methods of pelagic 

 sealing. On the contrary, in so far as it became a matter of public 

 knowledge, pelagic sealing was s])oken of as a commendable new indus- 

 try, developing maritime enterprise, in which both citizens of the United 

 States and of Canada were engaged, and which afforded remunerative 

 employment to them, as well as to a large number of the Indian i)opu- 

 latiou of both countries. 



From the commercial point of view^, which is necessarily that of the 

 lessees of the islands, it is not only and perhaps not so much the fact 

 that at sea a considerable number of seals are killed, but the circum- 

 st.'ince that this industry interferes with their monoi)oly or practical 

 monopoly of the market, which has frequently been admitted to be the 

 most valuable part of their franchise, and in the endeavour to maintain 

 which they have even purchased the greater j)art of the catch made at 

 sea, particularly in the year 1890. 



584. With the altered conditions and extended range assumed 

 100 by pelagic hunting in the course of the few following years, certain 

 changes also occurred in the manner in Avhic^h it was conducted. 

 The Indian hunters became accustomed to go far from their native 

 villages, and to engage for the hunting of an entire season. The spear 

 employed from prehistoric times by the people of the Aht Stock was 

 at first the only weapon used in pelagic hunting. The captains of 

 schooners engaging in the business discouraged the employment of fire- 

 arms, under the belief that the result of their use would be to alarm 

 the seals and reduce the chances of a good catch. This belief was 

 doubtless iu some measure justified, but as White hunters also began 

 to engage in the business, it became imi)ossil)le to prevent the use of 

 such weapons; the rifle was introduced, though soon su])erseded by 

 the shot-gun, which has now become the usual hunting weapon. Most 

 of the Indians readily adopted this new and more effective mode of 

 hunting, aud each year the number of these people emi)loyed, together 

 with that of the vessels engaged in the industry, increased. The num- 



